Middle East Loans

Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment firm, has launched a $2bn loan refinancing and will likely aim for a tight margin despite a choppy Middle East loan market, according to bankers.

Recent Middle East loans that have struggled in syndication indicate some lenders are having second thoughts about the regions’ borrowers just at the point when the latter need the loan market more than ever. The imbalance is about to upset the entire structure of the market, writes Elly Whittaker.

A juicy Middle Eastern project finance loan — for Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) — will be signed by end of next week, according to a banker close to the deal.

Emirates Global Aluminium has still not completed syndication of its $4.9bn seven year loan facility, despite bankers saying that the deal would have closed before the end of last year.

Qatar has signed its $5.5bn five year loan with 13 banks in the syndicate. The six underwriting banks are holding at least $4.2bn of the loan between them, according to a banker on the deal.

Six Japanese lenders have arranged a $1.2bn loan for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) as part of a $3.3bn loan arranged by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to ensure oil supplies for Japanese companies.

The Sultanate of Oman, having returned to the debt market for a $1bn five year loan, has named the banks in the deal's syndicate.

The Sultanate of Oman signed a $1bn five year loan on Tuesday, with 11 banks in the oversubscribed deal, despite the sovereign being hit by a downgrade in the middle of the deal.

Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) are in talks for a new money loan for the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (Yasref), according to bankers.

BankDhofar of Oman has followed the recent rush of Middle Eastern banks to the loan market for funding and signed a $250m three year club loan with six banks.

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has completed a Sr7.75bn ($2bn) package of loans by signing a $1.4bn three year revolving credit facility in London this week.

Lenders are piling into a $4bn project loan for Oman's Liwa Plastics Industries, lured in by a juicy margin of around 250bp, according to a banker involved in the deal.