Qatar signs $550 million syndicated term loan facility

Published May 14th, 2002 - 03:00 GMT

The Manama-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), Gulf International Bank (GIB) and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced that a five-year $550-million term loan facility was signed in Doha on behalf of the Qatari government, acting through the Ministry of Finance.

Following a syndication, which achieved a significant over-subscription with commitments in excess of $600 million, the facility amount was increased from the initial launch size of $450 million to $550 million. Twenty-six banks, both regional and international, are participating in this financing.

Established in 1980, ABC is the parent company of the Arab Banking Group. The bank was incorporated as a Bahrain joint stock company and was issued an offshore banking unit license by the Bahrain Monetary Agency in the same year. The three original shareholders were the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Kuwait’s Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Libya.

The ABC Group focuses principally on wholesale commercial and corporate banking and trade finance services. Its subsidiaries concentrate largely on exploiting opportunities in domestic retail and merchant banking sectors. Branch offices of ABC are situated in Grand Cayman, Milan, New York, Singapore and Tunis. — (menareport.com)