Middle East Loans

Saudi Arabia is following its fellow Gulf states by developing renewable energy. Bids are expected this month to build a 300MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Sakaka.

Dubai’s Department of Finance has taken out a $1.1bn syndicated loan to finance the expansion of the city's metro line, as part of its plan to host the World Expo 2020.

Saudi Electricity’s $1.75bn loan, which was signed on August 16, is being syndicated out by the eight lead banks on the deal.

Oman Oil’s subsidiary, Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP), is to resurrect a structure for its latest loan that could help other borrowers from the sultanate to access capital markets as the country loads up on debt, writes Bianca Boorer.

Oman Oil’s subsidiary, Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP), is to resurrect a structure for its latest loan that could help other borrowers from the sultanate to access capital markets as the country loads up on debt.

Kuwait’s Warba Bank is in talks with lenders about making its debut into the loan market with a $200m Islamic facility, the second Islamic bank to launch its first deal this year.

Majan Electricity, a subsidiary of Electricity Holding Co (EHC), has kick-started the syndication of a $165m facility as part of its parent company’s overall plan to raise $2bn across its subsidiaries.

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC), the largest utility company in the Middle East and North Africa, signed its largest international syndicated loan of $1.75bn on Wednesday with eight banks.

The spat between Qatar and its GCC neighbours has reared its ugly head in the capital markets, with the possibility of Abu Dhabi informally boycotting Qatari-owned banks on the table. But neither side is likely to really feel the pinch.

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s head of loan distribution Steve Perry has left the bank, five months after he joined the capital markets team as part of First Gulf Bank and National Abu Dhabi Bank’s merger.

The continued severance of diplomatic ties between Qatar and its neighbours is a growing risk to the country’s banks’ capital raising efforts, which have the heaviest reliance on overseas funding in the Gulf.

The National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah (Rakbank) launched its first syndicated loan on Tuesday for $250m with a three year tenor.