News

Canadian golf resort looks to issue sukuk

Bear Mountain, a luxury hotel and golfing resort in Victoria, Canada, is looking to the sukuk market to raise up to US$380mn to re-finance a loan it took out from HSBC. It would be the first publicly-rated sukuk issued in Canada.

Addax Petroleum in US$7.2bn takeover

On June 24, Sinopec, a Chinese international petroleum exploration and production company, will take over Addax Petroleum, a Swiss-based international oil and gas explorer with a strategic focus on West Africa and the Middle East, in a US$7.2bn deal.

Gazprom and NNPC set up Nigerian JV

On June 24, as part of the official visit by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to Nigeria, Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement on setting up a joint venture on a parity basis.

US$3.5bn bumper loan for Abu Dhabi's IPIC

International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), a state-owned petroleum company based in Abu Dhabi, is launching a US$3.5bn syndicated loan, which is set to be the biggest Middle East loan so far this year.

Gabon's long-serving president dies

Omar Bongo, Gabon's longest serving president, has died of a heart attack on June 8 in a Spanish hospital at the age of 73. He had been president of the African nation since 1967. He is said to have stopped work in May, checking into a clinic in Barcelona, with reports claiming that he had cancer.
 

Banks to increase spending on cash management IT

Banks seeking to improve the end user online cash management (CM) experience for corporate clients will spearhead 7.1% growth in IT spending on CM solutions in 2009-10, with total IT spending reaching US$904mn in December this year, according to the consultant Celent.

CEE banks come back to loan market

Despite tough market conditions, some CEE banks have returned to the syndicated loan market in the second quarter of 2009. State-owned banks like HBOR and NBL have managed to raise loans, as have three Turkish banks.