Bahrain - Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) and United Stainless Steel Company held a commemorative ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Bahrain for the $153m syndicated debt financing closed in November 2006. Arab Banking Corporation is the sole underwriter, bookrunner and facility & security agent. The proceeds of the facility will be used to partially finance the construction and operation of a 90,000 tonnes per annum cold rolled stainless steel mill in the Hidd Industrial Area, Kingdom of Bahrain. Usco will be the first cold rolled stainless steel producer in the region. The ceremony was attended by Usco's Board of Directors, senior management and representatives from the syndicate banks. The event also included a tour of the Usco site facilities.
Hisham Al Razzuqi, CEO of Gulf Investment Corporation, the initiator of Usco and one of its major shareholders, said: "GIC is particularly interested in initiating and participating in viable regional projects that add value to the economy, enhance employment opportunities for the national work force and give adequate returns to investors."
Ghazi Abdul Jawad, President and Chief Executive of ABC, also said that ABC had been awarded the sole mandate to arrange and underwrite the $555m financing for the expansion of the existing iron ore pelletising plant owned by Gulf Industrial Investment Company, which is also based in the Hidd Industrial Area. GIIC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), Kuwait.
© The Peninsula 2007
