Apicorp signs sharia-compliant syndicated loan

Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) has signed a two-part sharia-compliant facility worth $950 million that it will use to finance investments in regional energy projects, it said in a statement on Sunday. The bulk of the financing consisted of a SAR3 billion ($800 million) Islamic loan of five years duration that was provided by five Saudi banks: Banque Saudi Fransi, National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Saudi British Bank. The remainder was provided on a three year basis by First Gulf Bank, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the statement added.