Middle East Loans

Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (SEWA), a state-owned firm in the United Arab Emirates, is making a rare appearance in the Asian syndicated loan market with a $250m borrowing.

State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Company has raised a syndicated loan from local lenders worth $3.27bn equivalent. The deal is one of the few major financings to take place in the Middle East during the coronavirus pandemic, and comes at a time when Kuwait faces critical economic challenges.

A small group of Japanese banks have signed a syndicated facility that will support the funding of a solar power plant in Qatar, which is jointly owned by a consortium of Japanese, French and Qatari firms.

Saudi Arabia has secured its inaugural green loan backed by an export credit agency (ECA). The deal, which is the first of its kind in the region, may have a domino effect on other sovereigns in the Gulf, said bankers.

Oman, one of only two junk-rated sovereigns in the Gulf region, is tapping lenders for up to $2bn, as some say it could not find the right conditions in the bond market. According to bankers familiar with the deal, credit risk considerations are foremost and the sovereign will have to pay up to borrow.

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, has finalised its acquisition of Saudi chemicals company Sabic in a $70bn transaction. The final amount plus loan fees is set to be paid to the former owner, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), over eight years.

Saudi Arabia is set to raise its inaugural green loan with export credit agencies next month. The groundbreaking loan would be the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Emerging market borrowers are turning their noses up at the terms on offer in the loan market, which have become dearer during the coronavirus pandemic. Lenders say they are willing and ready to lend, but are not ready to concede on their terms, writes Mariam Meskin.

Saudi Aramco has closed a $10bn loan, according to bankers near the deal. The loan — the largest signed in the Middle East so far this year — comes amid a drop in oil prices, which has sent borrowers in the Gulf hunting for financing.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is hunting for a $10bn loan, according to market sources. Plummeting oil prices will send borrowers across the Gulf scrambling to raise financing. But creditors seem happy to plough money into the region, for now. Mariam Meskin reports.

The number of year-to-date loans signed across CEEMEA more than halved compared to last year, which bankers said is a direct result of the coronavirus crisis that has engulfed countries and markets worldwide. The outlook for issuance is bleak, to the dismay of many lenders.

London-listed UAE payments company Network International has refinanced an existing loan, raising $525m from regional and international lenders.