February 14 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government said it has given its consent to state-owned gas transmission system operator Plinacro to issue guarantees of up to 187.6 million kuna ($27 million/25 million euro) for a credit to be taken by its gas storage unit Podzemno Skladiste Plina (PSP).
Thanks to the guarantees, PSP will be able to take a club loan from local lenders Hrvatska Postanska Banka and Privredna Banka Zagreb to refinance its existing 230 million kuna long-term loan with the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, HBOR, the government said in a statement on Thursday after its regular cabinet meeting.
The existing loan at HBOR was approved in 2015 with a euro clause and a 2.5% annual interest rate.
The new loan of up to 187.6 million kuna will be approved without a foreign exchange clause and will have a fixed annual interest rate of 1.5%, energy minister Tomislav Coric said in the statement.
He added that with the refinancing, PSP will save a total of 4.75 million kuna by the end of the repayment period, i.e. by June 30, 2026.
(1 euro = 7.44847 kuna)