Financing

We have solid financing, both for ongoing business and for investment projects initiated or planned. Corporate bonds form the basis of our medium to long-term debt financing. These are issued in euros and other currencies with different maturities as part of our €20 billion debt issuance program. The goal is to create a balanced maturity profile, diversify our financing and optimize our debt capital financing conditions.

For short-term financing, we use BASF SE’s global commercial paper program, which has an issuing volume of up to $12.5 billion. As of December 31, 2022, commercial paper with a carrying amount of €654 million was outstanding under this program. A firmly committed, syndicated credit line of €6 billion with a term until 2026 covers the repayment of outstanding commercial paper. It can also be used for general company purposes. The credit line and another short-term credit line of €3 billion that was taken out in April 2022 were not used at any point in 2022. Our external financing is therefore largely independent of short-term fluctuations in the credit markets.

BASF Group’s most important financial contracts contain no side agreements with regard to specific financial ratios (financial covenants) or compliance with a specific rating (rating trigger).

To minimize risks and leverage internal optimization potential within the Group, we bundle the financing, financial investments and foreign currency hedging of BASF SE’s subsidiaries within the BASF Group where possible. Foreign currency risks are primarily hedged centrally using derivative financial instruments in the market.