• 3-year dual currency Syndicated Murabaha facility
in US$ and QAR
• QInvest acting as Sole Bookrunner and Structuring
Advisor
• Qatar Islamic Bank as Mandated Lead Arranger
• Ahli United Bank, First Gulf Bank and QInvest as
Lead Arrangers
Al Jazeera Finance (“AJF”) has signed a US$ 95.0 million
(QAR 345.8 million) 3-year dual currency Murabaha facility
with a syndicate of banks from the GCC, its first
syndicated financing transaction.
QInvest acted as Sole Bookrunner and Structuring Advisor
to AJF. Qatar Islamic Bank took the Mandate Lead Arranger
(MLA) role and is also acting as the Investment Agent.
Ahli United Bank, First Gulf Bank UAE and QInvest were the
Lead Arrangers.
Established in 1989 and backed by major shareholders
including Qatar National Bank, Qatar Insurance Company and
its two founding shareholders being Qatar Islamic Bank and
Awqaf (Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs), AJF is
today the oldest and largest consumer finance company in
Qatar.
The activities of AJF are to pursue consumer financing
opportunities in Qatar, including providing car financing,
mortgages, retail and corporate financing, designed to
improve the access to finance for retail customers, and to
support the business growth of corporate clients, in
particular small-to-medium-enterprises (SMEs), be it for
business expansion purposes, the acquisition of a car, a
house, consumer durables or additional funds for personal
spending.
Speaking on the occasion of the signing ceremony, Amer Al
Jabri, Chief Executive Officer of AJF commented: "We are
pleased to announce this transaction as the agreement
today is an important stepping stone towards diversifying
our funding sources, and reaching out to a wider group of
banking relationships”.
He further added: “We are pleased to be working with such
strong and committed banking partners. The signing of this
transaction is a testimony to the confidence of the GCC
financial markets in Qatar and AJF”.
Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest,
commented: "The success of this deal is a testament to the
efforts of all teams involved. QInvest has advised and is
currently advising AJF and its shareholders on a number of
initiatives and we are pleased with the partnerships that
have been formed to successfully complete this milestone
transaction”.