By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, QNB Group, has announced the successful closing of the syndication for its $3.5 billion three year senior unsecured term loan facility.
The syndication was well supported by 21 international lenders and the facility was upsized due to strong demand from the market.
The new loan facility will be used for general corporate purposes, the company disclosed in a statement.
The syndication was fully underwritten by 9 Underwriters, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited (BAML), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A., QFC Branch, Mizuho Bank Ltd. (Mizuho), Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank Limited.
BAML was mandated as the Documentation Co-ordinator while Mizuho was mandated as the Syndication Co-ordinator and Facility Agent.
The Group also announced that it had already repaid in full the earlier loan of USD3.0 billion syndicated loan prior to issuing the above mentioned new loan Facility.
QNB Group CEO Ali Al-Kuwari stated that “QNB Group is very happy at the successful refinancing and the upsizing of the existing syndicated loan facility, which is a reflection of the strong demand by the Top Tier Global Banks that want to continue to partner with QNB Group.”
“This further reflects the investor community’s confidence in the Group’s strategy and the strength of our financial position particularly following the recent announcement of our robust 2017 financial results,” he added.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Dipo Olowookere