Tesla to take new $1.4bn loan from Chinese banks for Shanghai factory
US electric vehicle maker Tesla and a group of Chinese banks have agreed a new CNY10 billion ($1.4 billion), five-year loan facility for the company's Shanghai car plant - part of which will be used to roll over an existing loan, three sources familiar with the matter said.
China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank are among the banks which have agreed to give Tesla the financial support, one source with direct knowledge said.
The Chinese banks earlier this year already offered Tesla a 12-month facility of up to CNY3.5 billion, which is due to be repaid on 4 March, 2020, according to a filing the automaker made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
That new loan will be partially used to roll over the previous CNY3.5 billion yuan debt, according to the first source. The second source said the rest will be used on the factory and Tesla’s China operations.
The new loan’s interest rate will be pegged at 90% of China’s one-year benchmark interest rate, the same as the CNY3.5 billion yuan loan, the first source said.
Tesla broke ground on the factory in January and has started producing vehicles from its Shanghai plant. It aims to build at least 1,000 Model 3 cars a week by the end of this year.
