Middle East Loans

The government of Yemen has signed two financing agreements with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Omani oil and gas contracting firm Renaissance has completed the second and final phase of its OR200.5m ($521.3m) refinancing programme.

The debut Islamic facility of International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) has been oversubscribed by 20.5%, allowing the borrower to sign the deal at $120.5m.

Turkish Islamic bank Al Baraka Turk has launched a $250m one and two year murabaha facility into syndication. The borrower is hoping to attract new lenders to this deal, Al Baraka Turk said on Monday.

Dubai’s reputation in the loan market is riding high this week after Dubai Duty Free (DDF) used improving sentiment towards the emirate to slash the margins of its 2012 loan and property developer Abdulsalam Al Rafi Group became the first of three hotel operators in the market to sign a loan.

Saudi telecoms firm Mobily has signed Islamic loan agreements totalling around $650m with Nordic export credit agencies, the firm said on Sunday.

Pledges of $12bn in aid to Egypt from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates this week gave the country a boost amid the upheaval of its military coup. But while the support adds confidence in the short term that approaching debt maturities can be met, it has also heightened investor concerns about Egypt’s overall indebtedness.

The Islamic Development Bank has pledged $789.4m to finance projects in eleven of its member countries as well as education for Muslim communities in three others.

Abu Dhabi barge operator Gulf Marine Services has signed a Dh1.32bn ($360m) syndicated Islamic financing facility.

Jordan has signed a $358m murabaha agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the Islamic Development Bank.

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is hoping to reprice a $1.75bn six year loan it signed in July 2012. The borrower has watched the loans market and the margins on offer improve steadily, and will not be the only Middle East borrower wanting to push pricing tighter, said loans bankers.

Bahraini hotel developer Banader has reached a BD18m ($47.5m) financing agreement with Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Bahrain, a unit of Kuwaiti Islamic bank.