Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has received approval from its executive committee to negotiate for loan financing worth $2.3 billion and to set up a sukuk programme worth as much as $1.5 billion, the Gulf's largest utility said on Monday.

The two-part loan, to serve as a back-up facility for the company, would be structured as a revolving credit facility and have a lifespan of between three and five years.

One tranche would be worth up to SR3 billion ($800 million) and the other would not exceed $1.5 billion.

The sukuk programme would be used to fund capital projects, the statement added without elaborating.

Sources told Reuters in July that the kingdom's monopoly utility was in talks with local and international banks to raise a multi-billion-dollar loan, with tranches denominated in both US dollars and Saudi riyals. - Reuters