State utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a $1.75bn international syndicated loan to boost funds for capital expenditure plans.

SEC announced on 16 August that the five-year bullet loan will be co-financed by eight major international banks:

•  Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Japan)
•  Mizuho Bank (Japan)
•  HSBC (UK)
•  Standard Chartered (UK)
•  Natixis (France)
•  Citibank (US)
•  First Abu Dhabi Bank (UAE)
•  Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (Japan)

The loan will provide a boost for the prospects of some major planned power projects in the kingdom, which have stalled over the past year. One of these is the 3,780MW Taiba integrated solar combined-cycle (ISCC) plant.

SEC received proposals for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal for the planned Taiba plant in late November last year. However, bidders and interested companies are still waiting for news on the main contracts for the scheme.

The syndicated facility is the latest of a number of loans that SEC has agreed over the past 14 months, as it seeks to push ahead with several projects.

In June 2016, SEC signed a $1.5bn direct trade finance agreement with International Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The unsecured finance has a five-year tenor. It will be used for capital expenditure projects.

In September, the utility company revealed it was set to sign a SR5bn club Islamic financing with three local banks. The banks were National Commercial Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Samba Financial Group. The murabaha facility has a seven-year tenor. SEC did not provide guarantees. It will use the finance for capital expenditure.