Noor Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Kuwait’s Warba Bank, the mandated lead arrangers (MLA), announced the successful closure of a US$155 million sharia compliant receivable backed syndicated financing facility for a UAE-based Jafza entity.
The facility is a pioneering landmark transaction that enabled the obligor to successfully securitise its future receivables guaranteed by multinational oil and gas companies (MNOCs).
Noor Bank acted as lead arranger and book runner for the facility besides its role as the account bank, documentation bank, sharia coordinator, as well as investment and security agent. The facility was designed to refinance existing debt and finance the company’s future capital expenditure.
Hussain Al Qemzi, GCEO, Noor Investment Group, and CEO Noor Bank, said: “Islamic financing is asset-backed, which delivers greater security to the obligor and financiers. We are pleased to have led the facility that allows us to support our obligor in achieving its financial goals. On the other hand, working with our partners, QIB and Warba Bank, has once again enabled us to benefit from the vast potential that the regional market holds. The synergy has also contributed to the development of a sustainable economic model and the growth of the Islamic economy within the Middle East.” Bassel Gamal, Group CEO, QIB commented: “The signing of this agreement confirms the Bank’s strategy and commitment to providing innovative Islamic financial solutions that meet the requirements of regional corporate clients. This partnership between Noor Bank, QIB and Warba Bank is a testament of the strong cooperation between regional Islamic financial institutions to support strategic projects. This is another confirmation of our pioneering role in supporting the overall Islamic economy growth.” The transaction underlines the mandated lead arrangers’ commitment to structuring and promoting risk optimal innovative sharia compliant solutions for its customers. More importantly, the transaction supports the strategy of the MLAs to expand into the promising developing markets and provide sharia compliant financing solutions to newer markets and diverse customers.
Shaheen Al Ghanem, Deputy CEO, Warba Bank, said: “We are indeed very excited about this transaction; this is one of the many deals that Warba expects to bring to the market in this calendar year. We very much value our strategic relationship with Noor Bank and QIB, pre-eminent leaders in the regional financial markets.” Al Ghanem reiterated that the transaction is in line with Warba’s strategy to tap into the developing markets with significant potential for sharia compliant products in a risk optimal manner. Warba Bank is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional financing solutions to its customers and is actively pursuing corporate finance activities globally with special emphasis on MENASA and with key focus on supporting the socially responsible lines of businesses.
Incorporated in 2006, the obligor is a world-class oil services company that has significant operations in surface oil-based services in the Middle East. The obligor serves the entire Middle East North Africa (MENA) region and enjoys a dominant market position with a stable customer base. The company offers a complete range of oil services and has appropriate infrastructure to cater to MNOCs.
The obligor has concluded a number of acquisitions to foray in other regional and international markets and is actively seeking to penetrate the Saudi Arabian market.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
