Middle East Loans

Kuwaiti petrochemicals firm Equate has signed $6bn of loans, with a range of lenders from different regions joining the five underwriting banks.

Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility Public Warehousing Company is arranging its first loan since 2008, according to bankers.

Kuwait’s Burgan Bank is wrapping up a year of busy financing activity from Middle Eastern banks. It completed a $350m loan on Wednesday, increased from $300m.

Aegean Oil Terminal Corp, a Greek oil rig construction firm, has signed a $120m loan with four Gulf banks.

Aditya Birla Group company UltraTech Cement has wound up a $365m dual-tranche refinancing with five lenders in the syndicate.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is wrapping up syndication for a $4.9bn seven year loan facility and will close the deal before the end of the year, according to a banker with knowledge of the deal.

Banks are arranging a loan of around $3bn for Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) to build the $4.5bn petrochemicals complex called Liwa Plastics Industries.

As Middle Eastern banks are priced out of deals in their own region by international lenders with lower funding costs, they need to find more deals further afield in Africa and Asia to make decent returns.

Egypt’s Banque du Caire has cancelled plans to raise a loan for as much as $250m, but may consider signing a loan in 2016 instead.

South Korean construction firm SK Engineering & Construction Co has signed a $100m loan for general corporate purposes from three Middle Eastern banks.

The crunch is coming. The Middle East loan market has long offered low margins and lashings of liquidity but pricing is widening, just as issuers flock to the market in droves, writes Elly Whittaker.

Qatar's Doha Bank signed a $575m two year loan on Thursday, increasing the deal from the launch size of $500m.