Middle East Loans

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.

Gas transport company Maran Nakilat has obtained $662.4m of murabaha financing from Qatari Islamic banks QIB and Barwa to expand its fleet of liquid natural gas carrier ships. The financing will also enable Nakilat to increase its ownership stake in the joint venture.

Mobily, the Riyadh-based telecoms firm, has reached a $650m shariah-compliant financing agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Ericsson to fund the acquisition of network equipment from the two firms.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has signed a $300m Shariah-compliant financing for Egypt.

Turkiye Finans has increased the size of a new murabaha facility to around $500m, making it the largest deal completed by a participation bank in Turkey.

Kuwait Telecommunication Company has signed a $270m five year Islamic finance facility to upgrade and expand its network in Kuwait.