Nakilat signs financing deal

02 May 2006

Qatar Gas Transportation Company (Nakilat) has signed a $500 million corporate loan, designed to support the equity financing for future ship charters. The tenor is nine years.

Sumitomo-Mitsui Banking Corporation, which has an ongoing financial advisory mandate with Nakilat, acted as lead arranger and underwriter on the loan. Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), Commercialbank, Gulf International Bank, HSBC and Qatar National Bank joined at the senior level, each underwriting equal tickets of $83.3 million.

These holdings were then scaled back to $59 million following general syndication. Joining the deal were Ahli Bank, Arab Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Doha Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Ship financiers are now awaiting the financing of six Q-Max vessels to serve the Qatargas II project, each costing $330 million and for the first time to be wholly owned by Nakilat, without foreign participation.

'In the past, the shape of the financing has typically been dictated by the foreign partner,' says a banker looking at the deal. 'So now that it is Nakilat alone we are waiting to see if it will go for one or two banks underwriting the whole thing or for a club deal.'

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