MAF at early stage of talks for $1.5bn loan

23 January 2017

The Dubai-based developer has yet to issue a formal request for proposals to banks 

Dubai-based developer Majid al-Futtaim (MAF) is at early stages of talks with banks for a loan and could opt to raise $1.5bn of sharia-complaint debt.

“They have not yet issued a formal request for proposal. They are speaking to the banks and are open right now [to different options],” a banking source familiar with the negotiations said, adding that the revolver credit facility could be used to pay existing debt and fund some of the ongoing developments.

Reports last week suggested that the revolving facility - a type of loan allowing the borrower to withdraw and repay funds as and when needed - is likely to be denominated in both US dollars and UAE dirhams.

MAF, which owns and operates malls around the region and Egypt in North Africa, regularly taps debt markets. It issued a 10-year $500m sukuk in November 2015, following it with a $300m tap in mid-2016. BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD and Standard Chartered Bank last year helped MAF raise $500m through a revolving facility with a five-year tenor.

The developer was also in talks with banks to fund its Mall of Oman project last year. MEED reported in September that MAF had received bids for the main contract to build the mall, worth an estimated $715m. MAF is investing $1.3bn in developing shopping malls in the sultanate.

The company, which is rated BBB by the US’ Standard & Poor’s and the UK’s Fitch Ratings, also plans to invest a further AED30bn ($8.16bn) in the UAE by 2026, it said in a statement in November.

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