BAHRAIN: The investment
arm of the kingdom of Bahrain, Mumtalakat Holding Company, has
successfully secured a US$250 million revolving credit facility on the 1st
September. The transaction involved National Bank of Bahrain and Gulf
International Bank as the mandated lead arrangers, facility agent and
structuring bank, whilst Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Arab Bank and
Mashreq Bank acted as the co-arrangers for the deal. The legal firms
involved in the transaction were UK-based Charles Russell and Elham Ali
Hassan & Associates in Bahrain.
Part
of the proceeds from the facility were utilized for the repayment of a
US$500 million existing syndicated facility which was procured in 2008
and matured at the end of August this year. According to representatives
from the investment firm, Mumtalakat has consistently refinanced the
facility over the past two years, and has repaid up to US$250 million in
outstanding debt. Commenting on the deal Mahmood Al Kooheji, the CEO of
the sovereign wealth fund, said: “The new revolving credit facility is
part of Mumtalakat 's overall financing and funding strategy, which
utilizes a balanced mix of local, regional and international banks, as
well as key pools of liquidity in global capital markets.”
Earlier
this year, the company allocated up to US$150 million for investments
in local projects including a total of US$87 million for the real estate
and tourism sectors to boost the Bahraini economy. According to data by
the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, as of August 2013, Mumtalakat
holds approximately US$7.2 million in assets attained from non-commodity
related resources. In July 2012, the investment firm issued a RM3
billion (US$912.47 million) ringgit-denominated Sukuk Murabahah program
which was assigned a long-term rating of ‘AA2’ with a stable outlook by
Malaysia-based RAM Ratings.
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