The National Bank of Egypt is studying arranging a USD 400 mn loan to finance the establishment of the Saudi Al Ghurair Group’s USD 1 bn Al Canal sugar beet processing factory in Minya, unnamed banking sources tell Al Shorouk. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Arab African International Bank, Qatar National Bank, CIB, and Union National Bank are expected to participate in the syndicated loan. Ghurair’s Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery is expected to contribute USD 333 mn of the total cost for the plant, which is expected to begin production in 2020 and produce an annual 900k tonnes of sugar by 2021, once it’s fully operational. Investment Minister Sahar Nasr had previously said the project should help Egypt achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production.

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