By Tom Daly Nov 30 (Reuters) - China's Tianqi Lithium Corp
By Tom Daly
Nov 30 (Reuters) – China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp 002466.SZ mentioned on Monday it had signed a letter with a syndicate of banks to increase by a month the maturity date on $1.884 billion of loans that have been due for reimbursement on the finish of November.
Tianqi, one of many world’s prime producers of lithium chemical substances utilized in electric-vehicle batteries, had repeatedly mentioned its operations may very well be severely impacted if it didn’t repay the cash, which was used to accumulate a 23.8% stake in Chilean miner SQM SQMA.SN in 2018, by the due date.
The last-minute reprieve offers the corporate and its lenders, led by China Citic Financial institution 601998.SS, till Dec. 28 to signal a modified mortgage settlement, Tianqi mentioned in a Shenzhen Inventory Trade submitting. In any other case, Tianqi should pay again the cash by that date.
The 2 sides are “actively negotiating the important thing phrases,” of the modified mortgage settlement, it mentioned.
If the situations of the extension letter can’t be met, nonetheless, the reimbursement deadline is not going to be prolonged in any respect, the submitting mentioned, triggering a default. Tianqi should additionally repay excellent curiosity on the loans by Dec. 10.
Daiwa Capital Markets mentioned in a notice it noticed the extension as a approach to purchase time for Tianqi.
“We count on Tianqi to disclose an answer for the reimbursement of the annexation mortgage inside a month, probably a strategic funding or sale of Australian belongings amid a rebound within the lithium value,” it mentioned.
Tianqi, alongside Albemarle Corp ALB.N, collectively operates the Greenbushes lithium mine in Australia, the place it additionally owns the Kwinana processing plant.
China Citic Financial institution didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark outdoors regular enterprise hours.
Tianqi paid $4.1 billion for the SQM stake, taking up $3.5 billion of debt to finance the acquisition.
However lithium carbonate costs AM-99C-LTCB in China have plunged round 70% because it agreed the deal, amid oversupply, leaving Tianqi within the crimson and unable to pay again its borrowings.
($1 = 6.5773 Chinese language yuan renminbi)
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(Reporting by Tom Daly and Min Zhang; extra reporting by Cheng Leng; Enhancing by Ed Osmond and Lisa Shumaker)
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