Middle East Loans

Frequent syndicated loan borrower and United Arab Emirates-based aircraft lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has raised a $300m term loan with Chinese banks.

Etihad Airways has signed a €100m loan linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The deal is one of the latest ESG-linked financings signed in the Middle East, which is developing an appetite for sustainability-linked debt.

The loan market has had a great couple of years in the Middle East but in 2019 the bond market stole its thunder. However, as the region tries to wean itself off hydrocarbons, the sheer scale of financing needed means both markets will have plenty to do over the next 10 years. Mariam Meskin reports

Bankers in Doha this week were eager to start a World Cup funding run in Qatar, as concerns over the Gulf state’s conflict with Saudi Arabia began to dissipate.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has refinanced an existing $1.5bn loan with tighter margins. The deal is one of just a few raised in Bahrain this year, which has seen the number of syndicated loan deals drop almost 50%.

State-owned airline Dubai Aviation Corporation, known as flydubai, has refinanced its debut sukuk into a term loan — a rare win this year for the loan market, which has declined while attractive issuance conditions boost DCM volumes.

Emerging markets issuers are pumping out mandates, with the buy-side showing little sign yet of closing shop for the year, but investors are not throwing cash at everything.

National Bank of Bahrain has made a bid to buy a majority stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank, of which it already owns 29%. The move is the latest in a seemingly endless round of consolidation between Gulf banks, driven by the effort to become more competitive in what many have called an oversaturated banking market.

Do responsible investing, ESG and sustainable finance mean anything? If so, they must mean investors cannot buy Saudi Aramco’s IPO. When the world is desperately trying to cut carbon emissions, ploughing billions into a newly listed oil company is the definition of a backward step.

Emerging market issuers continued to enjoy solid market conditions this week with new mandates joining the pipeline and Abu Dhabi’s Mamoura executing a $3.5bn triple tranche trade.

The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, has closed a $10bn bridge loan, with tighter margins than its debut entry into the loan market in September 2018. The deal is one of this year's highlights from the region, where syndicated loan volumes have declined from last year.

The UAE's Emirates Water and Electricity Co and Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power have secured loans of Dh2.71bn ($738m) for Abu Dhabi-based Taweelah power and water desalination plant.