Dubai's ICD plans to raise $2bn loan

Investment Corporation of Dubai, the emirate’s main state-owned holding company, said on Tuesday it plans to raise $2bn from a syndicated loan to refinance debt.

The facility will include both conventional and Islamic portions and have a tenor of five years, the company said in a statement.

It added that the funds will go toward repaying the $2bn five-year portion of an original $6bn loan raised in August 2008. That facility’s $4bn three-year tranche was settled in August 2011.  

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citi, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD Bank and HSBC have been appointed as mandated lead arrangers on the conventional facilities while Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank will play a similar role on the Islamic facilities.

ICD said it will be hosting a bank meeting in Dubai next week.

ICD was set up in May 2006 and holds stakes in more than 30 companies, including Emirates Airline, Emaar Properties and Emirates NBD.

ICD is taking advantage of increased demand for Dubai debt, which has benefited from international investors seeking emerging market assets, but also improved sentiment driven by a recovery in the local economy and state-linked debt restructurings.