Strong Demand for Zain Saudi Arabia Debt Refinancing

The credit crunch has not affected the refinancing of a US$2.5 billion bank loan by Zain for its Saudi Arabian subsidiary, as it is already oversubscribed. Bankers are working on the refinancing of the loan, originally taken out in 2007 to help finance its purchase of Saudi Arabia's third mobile licence.

"The margin offered was quite high so it has managed to pull in all the necessary commitments," one Saudi banker working on the deal told the Middle East Business Intelligence.

Zain was successful in attaining the 3rd GSM licence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2007 for an investment of US$6.1 billion. In February 2008 the company completed its IPO that saw 8.5 million subscribers request for their share of the 700 million shares (50% of the company's capital) on offer raising US$1.87 billion.

The network launched in August 2008 after investing over US$1.5 billion in the development of the network.

On the web: Middle East Business Intelligence

Posted to the site on 27th July 2009