NPC and a consortium of European banks concluded a Framework Agreement

In mid June 2000 a high-ranking delegation from NPC headed by Deputy Petroleum Minister and NPC President, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, visited Germany. During the visit, NPC and a consortium of international banks led by Deutsche Bank AG signed a structured financing package.

On June 16, 2000, the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) and a consortium of international banks led by Deutsche Bank AG signed a structured financing package of 550 m euro, which shall serve to finance the NPC's major investment projects in Iran. The agreement was signed during the visit to Germany of a high-ranking NPC delegation headed by M. R. Nematzadeh, Deputy Petroleum Minister and NPC President.

NPC intends to utilize these facilities mainly for the financing of contracts with engineering companies from the European Union member countries.

The financing structure was tailored to the needs of NPC with the involvement of experienced international trading companies. The financing relies upon an off-shore collateral structure from which the export credit agencies will also take comfort. It enables meeting up to 100 per cent of the financing requirements of NPC's envisaged investment projects.

The financing will contribute to the further development of economic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the European Union. It will thus support the European export industries which are active in the Iranian market.

Alongside Deutsche Bank, the following banks have so far joined the consortium: AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank, BHF-Bank, Commerzbank, DG Bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, Société Générale and Westdeutsche Landesbank.

The financing agreement represents yet another element in the NPC's long-standing relationship with European banks in general and Deutsche Bank in particular, in the course of which several major investment projects worth more than half a billion DM have been successfully led-arranged by Deutsche Bank and financed over the past years.