Kuwait-based Warba Bank recently arranged a $150 million Sharia-complaint syndicated finance facility for the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA). The facility has a tenor of one year with a bullet repayment due at maturity.

Warba Bank participated in this transaction with a stake of $20 million in a consortium of six regional and international banks including J P Morgan Bank, Citigroup, Barwa Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Noor Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank.

Warba Bank has also announced its contribution of $15 million in an Islamic Sharia-complaint facility amounting $80 million arranged by HSBC for the Turkish Ozun Group, one of the largest apparel retail chains in Turkey.

The loan will support the development of the DeFacto brand production line for clothes and accessories. The Ozun Group currently owns approximately 260 stores in Turkey and is targeting expansion of its business by entering new regional and international markets, starting with the Middle East region. The loan provided by Warba Bank will be for three years, with average repayment tenure of two years.


Shaheen Al Ghanem, deputy CEO of Warba Bank, said: "We are very excited for completing this transaction. It reaffirms the Bank’s proven strategy of seizing promising investment opportunities in emerging markets, selecting the right partners and then executing successful cross- border deals by providing Sharia-compliant finance solutions to new and diverse customers thus enhancing Warba Bank’s competitive abilities  and contributing towards the development of the global Islamic economy”.  
 
“Such transactions are part of Warba Bank’s continuous efforts in expanding its business around the world to avail from favourable developments in the economies of these countries and a part of the geographic diversity and growth of Warba Bank’s investment portfolio by which we aim to achieve valuable gains for our customers and shareholders.

“Warba Bank continues demonstrating excellence in providing corporate financing services in emerging markets, and will continue to do so by leading and executing innovative Sharia-compliant investments which attain strong returns in both short and medium terms,” Al Ghanem concluded. – TradeArabia  News Service