Noor Bank closes Dh1.2b Islamic syndicated loan

Dubai: Noor Bank has closed an Dh1.2 billion Islamic syndicated loan for offshore vessel operator Stanford Asia Holding Company (‘Stanford’), a subsidiary of Stanford Marine Group (SMG).

Besides being Initial Mandated Lead Arranger, Noor Bank PJSC also acted as the Sole Underwriter and Sole Bookrunner for the Murabaha structured Sharia compliant syndication. The agreement will help consolidate Stanford Marine Group’s existing conventional and Islamic facilities into a single tranche facility. The deal will also further support SMG’s efforts to reduce its overall cost of finance and contribute to the group’s profitability and cash flows.

This deal is one of the largest Islamic syndicated facilities executed for any private sector entity in the UAE in 2015. The transaction not only received an overwhelming response from local and regional banks but was also oversubscribed on the back of the strong credit profile of the SMG group. Other participating banks in the deal were Barwa Bank, First Gulf Bank PJSC and Qatar Islamic Bank that acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers. Additionally, Ajman Bank PJSC and United Arab Bank PJSC joined the deal as Lead Arrangers. ‎Noor Bank PJSC also acted as Investment and Security Agent for the deal.

Speaking about the syndicated financing, Hussain Al Qemzi, CEO of Noor Bank said, “Having successfully closed Sharia compliant mandates valued at over $15 billion (Dh55 billion) across Europe, the Far East, the CIS countries and in the GCC region in the last 12 months alone, Noor Bank has once again reinforced its leadership position in the Islamic syndications and capital markets through successfully underwriting and lead managing this landmark structured finance deal for Stanford Marine Group.

“We anticipate 2015 to be another successful year for the bank and will continue to raise the bar for Islamic industry participants through providing our clients with innovative Sharia compliant Islamic capital market solutions.”