Middle East Loans

Commercial Bank of Dubai, like other Dubai credits, has swerved the increased borrowing costs inflicted on some of its Gulf peers with its latest loan.

Emirates NBD has signed a $1.7bn three year loan facility, increasing it from $1.25bn following a strong investor response.

Doha Bank has fully exercised an $80m greenshoe option on its Taiwan targeted syndicated loan, increasing its size to $180m.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi is betting big on India’s fast growing economy having opened a branch in Mumbai. While the purchase of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Indian foreign currency corporate loan book has given momentum to its business, the firm has bigger ambitions, NBAD’s chief executive officer for India told Shruti Chaturvedi.

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is leading a run of deals in the market from the sultanate, with the borrower said to be close to completing a loan of more than $3bn.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala has tightened the margin on its $1.75bn three year refinancing, despite the price on the original loan already being “eye-wateringly low”, according to one banker.

Kuwaiti petrochemicals firm Equate is taking its time to refinance $6bn of loans, with bankers blaming the tight pricing and deal size for the slow progress of the self-arranged transaction.

Dubai banks are stepping into the loan market as Commercial Bank of Dubai refinances a $450m three year loan, while Emirates NBD nears close for its deal.

Loan issuance from Omani borrowers, some of them debut deals, is in full flow and demand from international investors holds strong despite Oman’s recent downgrade.

Qatar National Bank signed its €2.25bn loan on Wednesday, increasing the deal by €750m in syndication and soaking up strong demand from lenders in Europe and China.

Petroleum Development Oman is holding a bank meeting in London on Friday to liaise with new banks which could be interested in its $3bn loan.

Financial institutions have been propelling loan activity this year raising $4.2bn in Asia ex-Japan to become the third largest contributor to total volumes year-to-date. While Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine banks have been regulars in the market, banks from geographies as far away as Latin America and the Gulf are also tapping Asian, specifically Taiwanese, liquidity, write John Loh and Shruti Chaturvedi.