The Standard Bank of South Africa recently signed its debut syndicated 364-day term loan of $175 million targeted at Middle Eastern banks in Dubai.

Mashreq was the mandated lead arranger and sole bookrunner of the financing.

Al Khalij Commercial Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, China Construction Bank Corporation, Doha Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Abu Dhabi Branch, Samba Financial Group and Union National Bank also joined as mandated lead arrangers.

Bank of China, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Credit Libanais and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberosterreich Aktiengesellschaft, also participated.

The financing, which will be used for general corporate purposes, was oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times from the initial launch amount of $100 million with commitment received from bank of $253 million.

The term loan pays 130 basis points (bps) margin over LIBOR.

Rassem Zok, CEO Standard Bank- Mena, stated that the overwhelming response in the facility from the Middle Eastern and international banks confirms increasing interest in Africa and trust endorsed to Standard Bank’s strong financial credibility.

Arno Daehnke, head: Treasury and Capital Management, Standard Bank Group, said: "I am truly delighted to be representing Standard Bank for the signing of the loan, which is our debut loan in the Middle East region.”

“The book was extremely well run by Mashreq.  The launch amount of the transaction was $100 million and the commitments received amounts to $253 million.  The final take was $175 million.

“The oversubscription indicates that there was keen appetite for the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited's name.  The participation in the transaction exceeded our expectations and the scale-back had to be made in order to accommodate and match Standard Bank's funding needs."

John Iossifidis, executive vice president and head of International Banking Group, Mashreq said “It was indeed an honor to lead and manage the syndicated loan deal for a very important relationship for Mashreq. The response reinforces Mashreq’s excellent arrangement capability and wide relationship network that it maintains with counter-parties in the region.”

Standard Bank Group is Africa’s largest banking group, present in 18 African countries and a major player in the natural resources. ICBC of China is SBG’s largest single shareholder. – TradeArabia News Service