KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the cruise ship, which was commissioned at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg last October by Star Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asian Pacific. The corresponding agreements were signed on Wednesday.

The purchase price for the ship is around EUR 700 million. The financing to the tune of just under EUR 600 million will be paid in US dollars and has a term of 12 years from delivery.

KfW IPEX-Bank has structured the overall financing and is providing the entire loan amount together with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and the Singapore branch of DNB Bank ASA. The financing is backed by export credit insurance issued by the German Federal Government (covered by Euler Hermes) and encompasses the Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR) for ships, which is determined by the OECD.

"With this high-volume financing, we are underlining both our expertise in structuring within the cruise ship industry and our role as one of the world's leading players in ship financing. We are also helping to support German exporters, especially North Germany as a shipbuilding location," explained Christian K. Murach, the responsible Management Board member at KfW IPEX-Bank.

The new vessel has a gross tonnage of about 150,000, more than 1,600 passenger cabins on 18 decks and a length of approximately 330 metres. Consequently, it will not only be the largest ship in Star Cruises' fleet; it will also be counted among the biggest cruise ships based out of Asia.

As a modern cruise ship tailored to the Asian market, it will feature in particular an extensive range of entertainment and shopping facilities. Around 3,100 Meyer Werft employees and some 20,000 employees of suppliers and partner companies are all collaborating on this project.

With delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016, Star Cruises is set to increase its fleet to eight ships. The company recently commissioned the Meyer Werft shipyard to construct another (sister) ship, which is to be brought into service in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Star Cruises, together with its associate Norwegian Cruise Line, is the third largest cruise operator in the world. Star Cruises belongs to Genting Hong Kong Limited, a company listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and traded on the Global Quote of the Singapore Exchange and Securities Trading Limited and active in the leisure, tourism and entertainment industries.

The Meyer Werft shipyard has a long history – dating back more than 200 years - and is now owned by the seventh generation of the Meyer family. It builds state-of-the-art cruise ships, among other commissions, for shipping companies from all over the globe and is the most important employer in the Papenburg region.