JKH finalises US $ 395mn syndicated loan for Waterfront

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John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) has finalized the US$ 395 million debt financing required for its flagship Waterfront mixed development project from a renegotiated syndicated loan through Standard Chartered Bank.

When the new regime placed restrictions on gaming facilities, JKH changed the scope of the project to focus on MICE tourism, hence ‘Cinnamon Life’ as its theme. 

This has reduced the cost of the project, which was initially estimated at US$820 million.

“The scope of the project has changed, so we reduced the loan by US$ 50 million voluntarily,” JKH Finance Director Ronnie Peiris told Mirror Business. 
The initial loan was US$445 million for 7 years. 

JKH had acquired US$ 100 million of the total last year through a bridging loan from Standard Chartered.

“We got a very competitive rate,” Peiris said, while JKH Deputy Chairman Ajit Gunawardene recently said that the rate would be just above the benchmark London Interbank Offered Rates.

The loan is considered to be the largest borrowing by a private entity in Sri Lanka.