Oryx Stainless establishes credit line in Thailand

Oryx Stainless (Thailand) Co. Ltd., part of Netherlands-based Oryx Stainless Holding B.V., says it has finalized a 660 million Thai baht ($21.2 million) “revolving borrowing base credit facility” to support the growth strategy of Oryx in Asia.

“Since nearly a decade, Oryx Stainless is active in the growing market of Southeast Asia, and implementing a local borrowing base was our vision since the very beginning,” says Roland Mauss, chief financial officer of Oryx Stainless Group. “Thus, the recent closing of the Thai financing facility is a further milestone in the successful development of our Thai operation, and underlines Oryx Stainless’ good positioning not only in the European but also in the Thai capital market.”

Oryx Stainless says it intends to use the facility primarily to fund its working capital requirements for inventory purchases, which the firm says can vary depending on developments in the global stainless steel markets and fluctuations in nickel prices. “The borrowing base ensures that sufficient funding is available at any point in time, in line with business developments, to the benefit of both the company and the lenders,” the firm states.

Oryx Stainless Thailand says HSBC Thailand has been the “lead arranger” to structure and arrange the revolving credit facility transaction. Both HSBC Thailand and Bangkok-based Kasikornbank PCL will act as lenders in the arrangement. The facility agent function is covered by HSBC Singapore and the legal documentation was prepared by Norton Rose Fulbright Thailand, according to Oryx.

Sirichai Tempoomsuk, chief financial officer of Oryx Stainless Thailand, says, “The revolving borrowing base credit facility ‘breathing’ with the warehouse inventory is the most intelligent form of financing that matches our business model, and we are supported by our long-term strong and renowned banks as partners to realize it.”

Oryx Stainless Group says it focuses its activities on the handling and processing of stainless steel scrap into secondary raw material blends – individually adapted for the respective stainless steel producers – to help them replace primary raw materials such as ferronickel, ferrochromium and ferromolybdenum.