Middle East Loans

GlobalCapital has opened the poll to decide the winners of its Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Awards. These awards are the only ones decided by the loan market itself and they are based solely on the public vote.

It’s the moment you have all been waiting for. More hotly anticipated than the reopening of the Russian loan market, GlobalCapital has opened the poll to decide the winners of its Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Awards.

In a busy run for Turkish food company loans, Ülker Biscüvi and Yıldız subsidiary Ak Gıda are set to close conventional and Islamic deals this week. Meanwhile, Yıldız itself has asked HSBC to underwrite a leveraged loan backing its $2bn acquisition of Jaffa Cake maker United Biscuits.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a $25m loan to Moldovan agricultural commodities trader Trans-Oil Group and agreed a $30m credit line to National Bank of Egypt (NBE).

Australian company Manassen Foods, which is partly owned by China’s Bright Food, has completed a $285m refinancing with a club of seven banks.

Bright Food’s $800m club loan for its purchase Tnuva has been delayed as there is a reassessment of the valuation of the Israeli company after it reported a year on year decline in revenue for the second half of 2014.

As syndicated loan volumes in central and eastern Europe dwindled in the first nine months of the year, hit by conflict in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian banks and energy companies, Standard Chartered has emerged at the top of the bookrunner league tables.

Raising one’s game from regional bank to global is a risky strategy at the best of times, so for National Bank of Abu Dhabi to attempt the move when other firms are retrenching is is bound to draw some scepticism.

Raising one’s game from regional bank to global is a risky strategy at the best of times, so for National Bank of Abu Dhabi to attempt the move when other firms are retrenching and streamlining their businesses is bound to draw some scepticism.

London transport, it’s always a pleasure. But when you’re on your way to meet a senior debt banker over from the United Arab Emirates, seeing your journey time triple because of the unannounced closure of a tube line can be the occasion for a fantastic mix of stress and embarrassment.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi will underscore its commitment to its wholesale banking business by splitting the UK part of its operations from its private banking arm and moving as many as 100 staff to Canary Wharf.

Qatar’s Ahli Bank has closed a $200m debut syndicated loan, increasing the size of the deal after its initial amount was oversubscribed.