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Tamweel closes $235m syndicated bank facility

DUBAI — Tamweel, the largest provider of real estate finance in the UAE, announced yesterday that it has successfully closed a $235 million (Dh863.5 million) syndicated bank facility, which involved the participation of leading regional and international financial institutions, including banks based in the Far East.

The facility, provided under a Shariah-compliant structure, will be used to fund Tamweel’s long-term growth and business objectives. The financing documents have been approved by Noor Islamic Bank’s Shariah Board and fully vetted by Tamweel’s Shariah Supervisory Board.

ABN AMRO and Noor Islamic Bank served as lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the transaction, which has been priced in both US dollars and UAE dirhams, and will reach maturity in three years.

This landmark facility comes on the heels of Tamweel’s successful closure of a $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) exchangeable sukuk issue, whose order book was oversubscribed within hours of announcing the launch, in January 2008. This follows the company’s $210 million (Dh 772 million) asset-backed securitisation issue in 2007, which was placed primarily with European investors.

“In this period of rapid growth of our business in the UAE and ongoing international expansion, this syndicated bank facility provides us with an even more diversified source of funding,” said Wasim Saifi, Chief Executive Officer, Tamweel.

“The successful closure of this facility further demonstrates the confidence that regional and international financial institutions place in Tamweel,” said Gaurav Agarwal, Chief Financial and Support Services Officer, Tamweel. “As well, the pricing, tenor and coverage of this facility are all extremely competitive, especially considering today’s challenging global economic environment.”

“We aim to play an important role in the development of Islamic banking industry by bringing well-structured Shariah complaint issues to the market,” said Hussain Al Qemzi, Chief Executive Officer, Noor Islamic Bank.

“In this period of marked global financial instability, the international financial services community is more eager than ever to tap opportunities in high-growth emerging markets, especially the UAE,” said Vishnu Deuskar, Head of Global Markets ABN AMRO UAE.