Middle East Loans

Ever since six Arab countries led by Saudia Arabia and the UAE ostracised Qatar last summer, banks have been agonising over the feud.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) has signed a $3.5bn loan with 21 international banks, with one of those also selling over $2.3bn of MTNs for the issuer, showing that banks’ jitters about supporting Qatari entities in the wake of the dispute between the sultanate and six other Arab states have partly been assuaged. Bianca Boorer and Virginia Furness report.

GlobalCapital revealed the winners of its 2017 Loan Awards at its annual Loans and Leveraged Finance Awards Dinner at Gibson Hall in London on February 7. The full results are below: GlobalCapital congratulates all the winners and nominees.

Qatar National Bank has signed a $3.5bn loan with 21 international banks, showing that banks' jitters about supporting Qatari entities in the wake of the dispute between the sultanate and six other Arab states have partly been assuaged.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), a diversified chemicals producer, is looking to raise a large syndicated loan with international banks, according to sources close to the potential deal.

Qatar National Bank is expected to increase its loan to around $3.25bn, after it received commitments exceeding its launch amount.

Qatar National Bank is expected to sign its $3bn loan refinancing in the first week of February, according to a source close to the deal.

Emaar Properties’ real estate development unit Emaar Development is expected to launch a loan soon to fund a development project in Dubai, according to a source close to the deal.

Saudi Arabia has requested proposals to refinance its $10bn syndicated loan, signed in 2016. It has also asked for ideas for a dollar bond issue and a possible export credit agency-backed financing, as part of a new financing plan.

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) has signed its biggest ever syndicated loan, for $2.6bn, with a club of eight banks, after tapping the same banks for $1.75bn last year. The loan is an unsecured one year bridge facility.

Axis Bank’s presence in the top group of a recent loan for Oman’s Bank Sohar has once again put the focus on Indian lenders’ efforts to expand their overseas balance sheets. Banks from the south Asian country see FIG deals as a safe gateway to business in unfamiliar geographies — and are keen to step up their game. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Dubai’s GEMS Education hosted a roadshow last week for a $1.25bn loan, which attracted a mix of local and international banks.