FirstCaribbean Wins Project Finance Deal of the Year for 2009

BRIDGETOWN, April 6, 2010. FirstCaribbean has been awarded the Project Finance Latin America Project Bond Deal of the Year, for its role as joint lead arranging bank and local placement agent in the US$265 million financing for the redevelopment of the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, The Bahamas. 

In March last year, FirstCaribbean successfully placed the following facilities: The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) B$30M and US$12M, 22.75-year Senior Notes and US$60M and B$10M, 25-year Participating Debt Facility.

FirstCaribbean acted as placement agent for the local currency portion of the Senior Notes and the subordinated Participating Debt Facility.  FirstCaribbean also assisted in placing the USD portion of the financing locally, due to the depressed US Financial market.

FirstCaribbean’s Managing Director, Investment Banking & Sector Specialist – Sovereigns, Ian Chinapoo, noted that the win is an acknowledgement of the overall strategy which the bank has put in place to create growth opportunities within the current environment. “As our clients evolve and adapt to new market and business realities in the region and beyond, we must anticipate their challenges and opportunities, positioning ourselves to be their Strategic Partner,” he observed.

Project Finance Magazine is Euromoney Publications’ flagship international infrastructure finance title. It has been publishing for 26 years and covers a range of sectors including gas, power, renewables, transport and public-private partnership.  

The Project Finance Awards, the first in the industry and started eleven years ago, are for innovation, deal repeatability, best practice, problem solving, risk mitigation and speed of delivery in the financing of infrastructure projects, large or small.

The 11th awards dinner for the Americas region was held last month in New York.