Ficohsa Talks Resort Financing

Honduran bank Banco Financiera Comercial Hondurena (Ficohsa) is in talks with several local banks to syndicate a $35m 10-year loan to finance the second phase of the Honduran Bahia de Tela resort, says Javier Atala, Ficohsa’s general manager and executive vice president. He tells LatinFinance that the USD-denominated loan should have an interest rate of about 8% and that he expects to invite multilaterals Cabei and the IFC to participate. Atala expects the first loan disbursement to happen in Q1 2011. The project, 51% owned by local investors and 49% government owned, will include a golf course, residential areas and a 5-star, 120-room hotel. Atala says Bahia de Tela is in talks with hotel chains Westin and Hilton and a US-based hotel management company about flagging the hotel. A decision on which flag the hotel will carry should be made next month, he says.