Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral development bank focused on energy investments and owned by the ten Arab oil exporting countries, has successfully signed an oversubscribed shariah-compliant syndicated financing with a total amount of SR1.5 billion ($400 million).  

The five-year financing of the commodity murabaha facility was provided by a group of leading Saudi banks consisting of Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank, SABB and Samba Financial Group.

HSBC Saudi Arabia acted as the lead arranger for the credit deal on behalf of Apicorp. The financing facility will be used for general corporate purposes, including expanding its portfolio of equity investments in regional energy projects.

Commenting on the deal, Hesham Farid, the managing director for Treasury & Capital Markets, Apicorp, said: "The successful signing of the new syndicated financing facility underscores the financial strength and the banking industry’s confidence in our business model."

"There is a strong appetite among lenders to provide financing to Apicorp, which is a testament to our robust balance sheet, excellent track record and overall credit worthiness," he stated.

Faisal Qadri, the managing drector and head of Debt Capital Markets and Structured Finance at HSBC Saudi Arabia, said: "We are proud of the longstanding relationship with Apicorp and are pleased to have partnered on this successful murabaha deal as a coordinator."

This transaction also points at Apicorp’s ability to tap into multiple funding markets; regional and international, as evidenced by its RegS Sukuks, 144a Bonds, Asia Dim Sum and Formosa deals, said the statement from Apicorp.

Furthermore, the strong credit worthiness is backed by the AA3 rating by Moody’s, as well as Apicorp’s enhanced credit profile from stable to positive. The latter is especially noteworthy, given the prevailing economic conditions, it added.-TradeArabia News Service