Banks Eager to Back ChemChina's Syngenta Bid

(Beijing) – Seven Chinese and foreign banks have thrown their weight behind a China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina) bid for Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta AG by pledging 20 percent above a US$ 12.7 billion syndicated loan request, the consortium's lead bank China Citic Bank International Ltd. has told Caixin.

Meanwhile, Caixin has learned, a separate bank consortium led by HSBC is working on a US$ 7.5 billion syndicated loan to help finance the proposed US$ 43 billion takeover, which would be the biggest-ever foreign investment by a Chinese enterprise.