SCA denies seeking EUR 300 mn from Gulf banks to finance dredger purchase

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) denied reports that it’s looking for a EUR 300 mn loan from the Gulf to purchase two dredgers, SCA spokesperson Tarek Hassanein said yesterday, Ahram Online reports. We noted a Reuters report yesterday claiming that the SCA was in talks with Gulf banks for a loan to finance its agreement with Dutch Royal IHC for the dredgers. A consortium made up of CIB, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and the Arab African International Bank had offered to provide the SCA with the loan earlier this year, but banking sources had said at the time that the SCA was likely to borrow from international institutions that offered better rates and repayment conditions.