Mashreq, a leading UAE financial institution, along with partners Doha Bank, Habib Bank and United Bank, has closed a syndicated term loan for Sri Lanka’s largest bank, Bank of Ceylon (BOC).

The $175 million facility has a tenor of one year.

The initial facility that was sized at $100 million received significant over-subscription and was upsized to $175 million. The deal witnessed participation from 15 financial institutions from around the region, both Gulf and Asian banks to this successful transaction.

Mashreq is the first UAE financial institution to arrange a syndicated loan facility for a Sri Lankan bank.

“The success of this deal is a testimonial to the sound infrastructure of the financial sector in the UAE and in Mashreq’s capabilities to originate and distribute syndicated loan transactions,” stated John Iossifidis, head of International Banking Group, Mashreq.

“We are pleased to partner with an established and a market leader such as Mashreq and stress on the importance of this facility as it gathers some of the well-known banks in the region,” added Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe, chairman of Bank of Ceylon.

BOC intends to use the proceeds to fulfill its short-term funding requirements and trade finance related needs.-TradeArabia News Service