Jaguar Land Rover raises $705 mln loan from Chinese banks

Wuling Motors Holdings

05/06/2020 09:00

By Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh
    SHANGHAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), owned
by India's Tata Motors  TAMO.NS , has entered into agreements
with lenders in China for a secured term loan facility of 5
billion yuan ($704.50 million), marking its first debt financing
in China, it said. 
    Arthur Yu, JLR's vice president and China chief financial
officer, said the Chinese banks that would provide it with the
three-year revolving loan include Bank of China  601988.SS ,
ICBC  601398.SS , China Construction Bank  601939.SS , Bank of
Communications  601328.SS  and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
 600000.SS .
    The fundraising comes as the coronavirus pandemic has hit
global automakers' supply chains and sales. Sales from China
used to account for 25% to 30% of JLR's global sales, but over
the past two months make up 50%, Yu said.
    The loan facility "can help JLR China better manage cash
flow amid the coronavirus epidemic", Yu told reporters on
Friday.
    JLR, which imports cars and also has a manufacturing
partnership in the Chinese eastern city of Changshu with
Wuhu-based Chery Automobile  CHERY.UL , said its China sales in
April were level with same period last year, and it saw sales
growth in May.  
    Yu said the company expects sales of China's luxury car
segment this year to be level with last year or see slight
growth. 
($1 = 7.0972 Chinese yuan)

 (Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
 ((Y.Sun@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 66271262; Reuters Messaging:
y.sun.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))