Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) has successfully closed its first syndicated term loan facility oversubscribed at US$ 100 million, almost double its original figure, after keen diversified regional and international demand.
The successful closure of the three-year term syndicated loan, originally set at US$ 60 million, demonstrates growing international recognition of KIPCO’s strength and stature.
KIPCO is Kuwait’s largest private sector company with major activities in finance, media & telecommunications, real estate and industry throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Lenders involved in the US$100 million term loan, fixed at the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) plus a margin of 1.25 per cent, are from Europe, and Asia and the Far East, as well as the Middle East.
Final distribution of the syndication by region was: Middle East 50 per cent; Europe 35 per cent; Asia and Far East 15 per cent.
The loan facility was signed at a ceremony in Dubai by KIPCO vice chairman Abdulla Yacoub Bishara and representatives of the syndication’s mandated lead managers: Arab Bank plc; HSBC Bank plc; and The Arab Investment Company SAA.
“Demand from regional and international markets was keen and exceeded our original figure of US$ 60 million,” said Abdulla Yacoub Bishara. “We have almost doubled the syndicated amount to US$ 100 million due to this demand. “The success of this first syndicated term loan facility is a landmark for KIPCO and firmly positions the company as a recognised international player,” he said. The term loan will complement the depth and quality of KIPCO’s institutional lending base, extend the maturity profile of its liabilities, enhance the currency profile of assets, and reduce costs.
KIPCO, with more than US$ 10 billion under management or control, has a portfolio of 70 companies and its shares are the most actively traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Core operating companies are investment banking subsidiary United Gulf Bank (UGB); Gulf Insurance Company (GIC), a regional leader in commercial and personal insurance; Burgan Bank, Kuwait’s leading technology-driven commercial bank; fast-growing regional mobile telephone services provider Wataniya Telecom; and Showtime, the hugely-popular digital pay-TV service spanning the Middle East and North Africa.
