Peru’s financially struggling state-owned oil producer Petroperú signed a bridge loan with two international banks to fund its operations, while steel manufacturer Siderperú took out a green loan with the country’s largest lender for working capital.
Petroperú secured $475 million from Citi and J.P. Morgan as part of a $2 billion emergency package to strengthen its finances and operations, the banks’ legal advisor, Latham & Watkins, said Tuesday in a press release.
The loan will be made available through a trust managed by Peru’s investment promotion agency ProInversión, it added, without disclosing the tenor or interest rate.
The company will use the money to buy crude oil and essential services to sustain operations and supply fuel to the domestic market, the law firm added.
The bridge loan comes after Petroperú received a guarantee from the Peruvian government in May to seek an emergency credit line to maintain operations following a surge in international oil prices. The company subsequently appointed TMF Fiduperú to oversee the financing package and ensure that the funds are used exclusively to import and refine crude oil, working with ProInversión.
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Meanwhile, Siderperú, a subsidiary of Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau, said it secured a green loan of up to $185 million from Banco de Crédito del Perú to purchase scrap metal to use in making steel products.
The funds will be used to support its implementation of a circular economy business model, the steelmaker said Tuesday.
Siderperú did not disclose the terms of the loan.
In 2023, the company took out a $4 million green loan from BCP for the same purpose.