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Japanese Banks provide loan to finance the FSRU Operation Project in Senegal and to support a Japanese Company in strengthening international competitiveness in Marine Development sectors.

Specifically, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and MUFG Bank, are providing a loan worth approximately $71 million to finance the FSRU Operation Project in Senegal.

In accordance with a statement of JBIC, the bank sealed a loan agreement in project financing, amounting to up to approximately $35 million (JBIC portion) with Senegal LNGT company ltd (SLNG) in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which is incorporated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). The loan is co-financed with MUFG Bank, bringing the total co-financing amount to approximately $71 million.

The bank said the project finance is a financing scheme in which repayments for a loan are made solely from the cash flow generated by the project.

The Japanese bank pointed out that in Senegal there is an ongoing project, in which a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) owned by SLNG will regasify liquified natural gas (LNG), which will then be used to generate electricity on an LNG powership. The generated electricity will be sold to Société nationale d’électricité du Sénégal, a state-owned power company in the country. The loan is intended for financing the FSRU project and will contribute toward the country’s energy transition, as it is mentioned.

The Government of Japan endorses in its basic plan on ocean policy, the strengthening of the international competitiveness of Japanese marine industries, and also the improvement of Japanese technical capability, and productivity in a wide range of marine development sectors.

“Supporting MOL in maintaining and improving its know-how for operation and maintenance of FSRUs in this project will contribute to MOL improving its international competitiveness in the marine development sectors”, JBIC said.

Furthermore it highlighted the fact that “as Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to financially support the overseas business expansion of Japanese companies, including in Africa, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, and by performing its risk-assuming function”.

Source: JBIC