Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises UniCredit and Investec on a EUR256m dual ECA-backed financing package for the development of three new hospitals in Angola to bolster healthcare provision and critical infrastructure

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance advises UniCredit and Investec in relation to the financing of the design, construction, equipping and servicing, on a turnkey basis, of three key regional hospitals for the Republic of Angola acting by and through the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Angola.

Within five years, the project aims to add 400 beds and 12 operating theatres, orthopaedics, trauma, cardiology, maternity, paediatrics, and ICU wards. The project goes beyond the provision of good healthcare. New infrastructure creates jobs and opportunities beyond the hospital facilities themselves (including, amongst other things, addressing a shortage in healthcare personnel and medical skills gap), while the ability to treat and manage diseases will have a positive impact on those most vulnerable.

This transaction was supported by two export credit agencies. UniCredit arranged 85% of the financing, guaranteed by the Italian ECA, SACE with contribution and support from SIMEST, an Italian public financing institution, to stabilize and subsidize the interest rate. Investec arranged financing for the remaining 15% under a separate dual-tranche commercial loan agreement, supported by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC).

The transaction contributes meaningfully to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and is a fantastic example of African agencies, governments, and financial institutions working successfully together to promote trade and social development within the region.

The multi-jurisdictional Global Financial Markets team advising on the financing package included Partner Leonard Cleland, Counsel Filippo Tassoni and Senior Associate Michael Obiri-Darko, with support from trainee lawyers Alessandra Ravazzolo (Milan), Marya Manna and Sebastian de Boer (both London).