Ten new cruise ships for the world's great rivers

Frankfurt am Main (ots) -

- KfW IPEX-Bank provides funding for Viking River Cruises
- Order for the building of river cruise ships placed with Neptun
Werft shipyard in Rostock

KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the construction of ten river cruise
ships for Viking River Cruises (VRC), the world's leading river
cruise company. The financing, which has a maturity of 8.5 years,
totals EUR 225 million. It encompasses export credit insurance by the
German government (Hermes cover) and the favourable Commercial
Interest Reference Rate (CIRR).

Together with other banks, KfW IPEX-Bank had already agreed
between 2011 and 2014 to finance 37 river cruise ships, each capable
of carrying 190 passengers, for VRC. The current financial
arrangement covers ten ships of the same type, to be delivered
starting March 2016. All the vessels were, or are being, constructed
in the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, an affiliated company of the
Papenburg-based Meyer Werft shipyard. Christian K. Murach, member of
the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank, places a high value on the
bank's long-standing cooperation with the Meyer-Neptun shipyard
group: "By making financing available, we are not only contributing
our structuring know-how in the maritime industry but also helping to
secure jobs in Papenburg and Rostock." The bank has also had a close
business relationship with Viking River Cruises for many years. "As
one of the world's largest shipping financiers, we are happy to
support new builds for river cruises, which are becoming more and
more popular in Europe," adds Mr Murach. "With the current financing
we continue the successful and long lasting corporation with Viking
River Cruises," says Christian K. Murach.

Viking runs river cruises around the world, most of them in
Europe, especially on the Danube, Rhine, Main, Elbe and Rhône. It
also offers cruises on the Nile, Volga and Yangtze. Most of its
passengers (around 80 percent) are Americans, followed by Britons and
Australians. The river cruises are run on an all-inclusive basis.

KfW IPEX-Bank is Germany's leading source of shipping finance and
one of the top ten in the world. Through its customised financing for
new-build and conversion projects, it supports German shipyards as
part of the domestic export industry and contributes to job security
in the industry.

Press Contact:
KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Palmengartenstraße 5-9, 60325 Frankfurt
Pressestelle: E-Mail: Dela.Strumpf@kfw.de
Tel. 069 7431-2961, Fax: 069 7431-9409, E-Mail:
info@kfw-ipex-bank.de,
Internet: www.kfw-ipex-bank.de