Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

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.

State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp has sent out a request for proposals for a $200m deal, coming to the market eight months after it cancelled a loan in favour of a bond.

Bharat Oman Refineries (BORL), which sent out a request for proposal for a loan of $125m in October, has mandated a group of three banks for the financing.

A $1.5bn refinancing for Tata Steel has finally been opened into syndication, with invitations going out to a limited number of banks on Thursday. The company’s Singaporean subsidiary is raising the loan, which offers lenders an added incentive if they book the deal in the country.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa is tightening ties with Japanese lenders in pursuit of cheaper funding, having signed a $250m loan with Japanese banks earlier this year.

Turkey’s Garanti Bank will sign its second loan refinancing of the year in London on Friday, according to a lead banker.

Saka Energi Indonesia, a subsidiary of Perusahaan Gas Negara, has hit the market for a financing of up to $600m and is giving banks the option of booking the loan onshore or offshore.

India’s Reliance Industries signed its $1.47bn dual-currency loan on November 20 in Dubai, sealing the deal after commitments from a 30-strong group lenders.

India’s Reliance Industries signed its $1.47bn dual-currency loan at the end of last week in Dubai, with the deal sealed following commitments from a group of around 30 lenders.

Saka Energi Indonesia, a subsidiary of Perusahaan Gas Negara, has hit the market for a financing of up to $600m and is giving the banks the option of booking the loan onshore or offshore.

Mercuria Energy has wound up its latest multi-tranche loan at an increased size of $1.1bn. The shorter one year portion proved popular among lenders, but a three year tranche ended up being scaled back.

The leveraged finance market suffered an unpleasant shock this week, when $5.6bn of loans and bonds for the Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Veritas Software had to be pulled. Bankers were left blaming market sentiment, an aggressive structure — and each other, write Max Bower and Victor Jimenez.