KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd’s (Petchem) wholly-owned unit PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd has secured a US$1 billion bridging loan from various local and international banks.

The proceeds will be used to fund part of the costs of developing and operating polymers and glycol plants in Pengerang, Johor, Petchem said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The group said the execution of the bridging loan fulfils one of the conditions precedent in Petchem’s proposed sale of a 50% stake in PRPC Polymers to Saudi Arabian Oil Company’s (Saudi Aramco) wholly-owned subsidiary Aramco Overseas Holdings Coöperatief UA (AOHC) under an estimated US$900 million deal.

On Oct 2 last year, Petchem had said that the estimated US$900 million includes the divestment of 50% of any shareholder loans held by the group in PRPC Polymers to AOHC

In its announcement today, Petchem said the bridging loan has a tenure of 12 months with an extension of six months at the discretion of PRPC Polymers.

“The bridging loan is a temporary loan which is expected to be repaid once a long-term project financing is secured at a later date,” it said.

The group does not expect the execution of the bridging loan to have any material effect on its earnings for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2018.

Petchem’s shares closed unchanged at RM8.15, giving it a market capitalisation of RM65.28 billion. Over the past 12 months, the counter has gained about 13.63%.