Qatar Telecom (Qtel), one of the region's largest telecoms firms, has signed its debut Islamic financing facility worth $500 million, the operator said on Tuesday.

The deal, which runs for 18 months and is structured as a revolving Murabaha facility, was provided by Qatar Islamic Bank in a capacity as sole mandated lead arranger, the former monopoly said in an emailed statement.

A murabaha is a sharia-compliant cost-plus-profit arrangement.

Qtel, which operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has sent out requests for proposals (RFPs) to banks for a syndicated loan of up to $1 billion, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing banking sources. – Reuters