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Dubai-based airplane lessor and aviation services provider Dubai AerospaceEnterprise (DAE) will receive USD 420 mn in fresh funding from China Construction Bank (CCB) to strengthen its liquidity position, the company said in a statement. The five-year credit facility will be used to “support the future financing needs of the business,” the statement reads.
Not the first time CCB lends DAE a hand: CCB provided DAE with a four-year USD 300 mn unsecured loan in 2020 to support the airplane lessor’s financing needs.
The state-owned firm had raised the biggest loan in its history last year, clinching USD 1.6 bn in funding from 26 lenders, DAE said in September.
IN OTHER DEBT NEWS-
#1- Sharjah Islamic Bank lends Turkey USD 100 mn Murabaha financing: The Turkey Wealth Fund secured USD 100 mn in Murabaha financing from Sharjah Islamic Bank, in what Reuters says is the world’s first Murabaha financing for a sovereign wealth fund, citing a statement from issuance advisor Turkish bank Dogan Investment Bank.
The issuance — which carries a maturity date of three years — is also the fund’s first international Islamic financing agreement, and comes in a bid to diversify its sources of financing.
SOUND SMART- Murabaha financing is a sales contract-like structure that allows clients to purchase goods at a pre-agreed margin.
#2- Fitch affirms three Emirati banks’ credit ratings: Fitch has affirmed the Commercial Bank of Dubai’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) at A- with a stable outlook, and its viability rating (VR) at bb+, the rating agency said in a statement. Fitch has also maintained its BBB+ IDR for Sharjah Islamic Bank with a stable outlook and affirmed the National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah’s IDR at BBB+ with a stable outlook while upgrading its VR to bb+ from bb, the agency said.
The rationale: The agency affirmed its ratings on the back of the Emirati banking sector’s “solid” operating conditions over the past year, projecting these conditions to “remain strong in 2024.” Fitch also expects lending to decelerate this year to 5% from the 6.2% posted over the first nine months of FY 2023, dampened by lower demand and high interest rates.
