The manager of EC World REIT BWCU says its sponsor, Forchn Holdings Group Co., Ltd., along with the REIT’s lenders, have agreed for a portion of the margin deposit to be released from escrow and be used to partially pay the REIT’s outstanding mandatory repayment.
The partial payments would enable the REIT to save on interest payments, says the manager.
Forchn Holdings had placed a margin deposit of RMB200 million ($39.0 million) in an escrow account of the onshore facility agent under the existing onshore bank loans on Dec 30, 2022. The margin deposit was supposed to be used to settle the REIT’s mandatory repayment. The amount will be held in escrow till the date of completion of the mandatory repayment by Feb 28 or till its deployment subject to the instructions of the lenders.
On Feb 10, $24.4 million and US$2.9 million ($3.9 million), which amounts to a total of RMB140.2 million were used to partially repay the REIT’s existing offshore bank loans. The amount was released from the REIT’s margin deposit.
Another $11.3 million or RMB58.6 million were also used for the partial repayment of the existing onshore bank loans.
As a result, the outstanding amount of the margin deposit is RMB1.1 million, which continues to be held in escrow.
See also: Changes in ICR, leverage to come into effect immediately, with additional disclosures in March
Units in EC World REIT closed 1.5 cents lower or 3.19% down at 45.5 cents on Feb 10.
