Borse Dubai, the state-owned holding company for Dubai’s two stock markets, has confirmed it has extended the tenor of a $2.5bn loan by 12 months, to February 2011.

The extension was an option available to Borse Dubai when the facility was put in place in February 2009. The deal pays 325 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor), and an additional 75 basis points fee will now be charged as a result of the extension.

According to a company statement on 19 February: “It has informed the participating banks of its decision to exercise the one-year extension option of the current $2.5bn multi-currency syndicated facility.”

Bankers in Dubai say the extension is not surprising given the fallout from another company, Dubai World, which announced in November that is was seeking a standstill agreement on the repayments of about $22bn debt.

“There is no appetite for lending to Dubai names at the moment so Borse Dubai taking the extension option is no surprise,” says one banker in the emirate.

Borse Dubai has investments in the London Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq OMX Group, as well as acting as the holding company for the Dubai government’s stakes in the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai.