KUCHING: OM Holdings Ltd’s (OMH) wholly-owned subsidiaries, OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd (OM Sarawak) and OM Materials (S) Pte Ltd (OMS), have successfully refinanced their loans via a US$168 million syndicated debt facility.
The new facility is accompanied by separately and bilaterally arranged working capital and bank guarantee facilities of approximately US$136 million.
“The syndicated debt facility has been fully drawn, while the working capital and bank guarantee facilities are utilised as needed to facilitate the transition from the prior project finance facility,” OMH said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia recently.
The mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the new syndicated debt facility for OMS and OM Sarawak were jointly arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Labuan branch, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia Bhd respectively.
Bank of China Limited, Singapore branch; Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd; and AmBank (M) Bhd acted as mandated lead arrangers, with Malayan Banking Bhd and The Bank of East Asia, Singapore branch, as lead arrangers.
The new US$168 million syndicated debt facility comprises a four-year US dollar term loan, a three-year US dollar revolving credit facility, and a three-year US dollar prepayment credit facility with a 12-month extension option.
“This maturity profile reflects the company’s ongoing prudent and disciplined approach to capital management. The facilities received support from new and existing syndicated banking relationships, and proceeds have been used initially to refinance prior drawn-down loans maturing in 2025 and 2026, and thereafter for general corporate purposes.
“The new syndicated debt facility contains improved terms relative to the prior project finance facility, including longer tenor, quarterly repayments, more favourable covenants, less onerous undertakings, and improved pricing from a margin perspective,” said OMH.
OMH executive chairman and CEO Low Ngee Tong said the company was delighted to have successfully refinanced the loans under more favourable terms.
He said the participation of both new and existing lenders — comprising a diverse mix of global and domestic commercial banks — signifies strong confidence in and support for the company’s business operations in Malaysia.
“This refinancing aligns with the company’s strategy to lower borrowing costs while extending the maturity profile, ensuring that debt obligations are better aligned with future commodity price and revenue generation cycles. We look forward to working with all the lenders and continuing a strong business relationship,” he added.
“The successful refinancing reduces the company’s debt amortisation profile over the next four years, with an average annual repayment of between US$35 million to US$40 million.
“The syndicated debt and working capital facilities also improve the capital structure by providing a mixture of tenures and improving duration matching. This provides greater flexibility for growth while strengthening the company’s financial position and enhancing free cash flows over the next four years,” said Low.
OM Sarawak owns and operates a ferroalloy smelting plant in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu. In 2024, OM Sarawak produced 190,517 tonnes of ferrosilicon (FeSi), 317,995 tonnes of manganese alloys, and 124,704 tonnes of manganese sinter ore.
The plant has a design annual capacity to produce approximately 120,000 to 126,000 tonnes of FeSi, 330,000 to 400,000 tonnes of manganese alloys, and 21,000 to 24,500 tonnes of silicon metal.
The sinter plant has a design capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of sinter ore per annum.
