Middle East Loans

State oil company Saudi Aramco is expected to tap the bond market in the next fortnight for a deal that could be anywhere in the region of $7bn-$15bn, according to bankers in the region away from the deal. Estimates of the premium Aramco will have to pay over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia curve is being discussed as negative to plus 15bp, depending on the size of the deal.

Aramco’s eagerly awaited $69.1bn deal to buy petrochemical firm Sabic landed this week, prompting speculation over the financing’s structure and timing. Loans bankers are expecting to cover a large portion of the deal and expect it will be well supported, writes Mariam Meskin.

Citi has appointed Elissar Farah Antonios as cluster head for the United Arab Emirates, the Levant and Iraq.

A slowdown in loans activity in Europe and the Middle East has thrown the market’s usual supply-and-demand dynamics out of balance. Now although international lenders are eager to lend, they are having to make concessions to borrowers.

Qatar National Bank Group (QNB) closed a €2bn term loan on Wednesday, getting a heavily oversubscribed deal that demonstrated strong lender appetite in its first return to the euro market for nearly three years.

Bahrain plans to raise debt in capital markets over the next year, and bankers believe it should get a positive response from the market as the country is expected to continue recovering from a period of economic instability.

State-owned electricity company, Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) said on Wednesday that it will raise a Sr15.2bn ($4.05bn) loan from a consortium of domestic lenders.

Bank Muscat's Islamic banking arm, Meethaq, has requested proposals from banks for its debut loan syndication.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside of the oil and gas sectors, has kicked off the year with a $6.5bn term loan facility, as market conditions remain “borrower friendly”.

Bankers are confident that Oman can overcome the obstacles in the way of its borrowing capabilities, namely a large fiscal deficit and speculative grade ratings, in order to raise financing from international lenders.

A fresh round of US sanctions on Venezuela’s government will add to the pressure on 46th president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro to clear off, said bond investors.

Bankers have confirmed that Qatar National Bank has entered the second phase of syndication to refinance an existing €2.25bn facility due for maturity in May 2019.