BASF is taking advantage of the currently low interest rate environment in China and has signed a CNY 40 billion (approximately €5 billion) syndicated bank term loan facility with a maturity of 15 years for its new Verbund site in Zhanjiang. The new site is currently under construction in Guangdong province. The loan will be provided by major Chinese banks and offers flexible repayment options to optimize BASF’s cash utilization.

BASF is financing the new Verbund site with a combination of around 20 percent equity and 80 percent debt. “By signing this bank term loan facility, BASF is implementing its strategy to finance the Zhanjiang project with funds from China,” said Dr. Dirk Elvermann, Chief Financial Officer of BASF SE. The company’s financial strength and proven track record of strong sales and earnings growth in China enabled BASF to obtain highly attractive financing conditions for the loan.

“We are impressed by the great support for the project from the local banking market,” said Christian Jutzi, President Corporate Finance. “This underscores that our banking partners’ are confident that our new Verbund site will become a key platform for the long-term profitable and sustainable growth.”

The Zhanjiang Verbund site is a major investment of BASF with up to €10 billion. It will be operated under the sole responsibility of BASF and will be the company’s third largest Verbund site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.