Shearman & Sterling advised Clifford Capital Pte. Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation on the $140 million permanent financing of the Gazipur II 300MW power project in Bangladesh. The project is owned by Summit Gazipur II Power Limited, a subsidiary of Summit Power International of Singapore. The project was tendered on a priority basis by the Government of Bangladesh.
Financial close was achieved on April 22, 2020. The financing process was completed despite continuing lockdowns in Bangladesh and Singapore as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and required significant ingenuity and innovation, both in structuring and execution of the transaction, to overcome the practical challenges faced in closing a project financing transaction in these difficult times.
This is the first IPP to be financed solely by commercial banks in Bangladesh, which is a significant step forward for a country which has seen to date most of its financings from DFIs, particularly given the additional challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Shearman & Sterling team was led by partner Bill McCormack and included counsel Jean-Louis Neves Mandelli, associates Bilyana Belcheva, Kyle Koh and Matthew Mullarkey, and trainee solicitor Lauren Richardson (all Singapore-Project Development & Finance).