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UAE aluminium firm launches $4.9 billion, seven-year loan


Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a leading aluminium producer, has invited banks to participate in a $4.9 billion loan to refinance its existing project finance debt.

The deal will include both conventional and Islamic 'commodity murabaha' debt, EGA said in a statement.

The proceeds of the deal will be used to refinance existing debt that was secured in 2007 and 2012 by one of EGA's operating assets, Emirates Aluminium, EGA said. 

Samer Jumean, EGA's head of financing and capital markets activities, said: "This marks the first of a series of transactions being implemented to optimise EGA's capital structure".

"An optimised capital structure is necessary for diversifying EGA's funding sources and facilitating access to the capital markets," Jumean said.

Seven banks have been appointed to arrange the loan: BNP Paribas, Citibank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, ING Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Natixis, EGA said.

EGA has already "secured the participation of the Export Development Corporation of Canada, one of EGA’s key relationship banks", it said and hopes that other 'relationship banks' including UAE, regional, Japanese, European and North American banks, will participate in the loan.

The pricing of the loan was not disclosed by the company.

EGA was created by the merger of state-owned aluminium companies Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) and Abu Dhabi's Emirates Aluminium (Emal). It is owned equally by the Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, according to the company website.

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