DUBAI- Dubai's Majid Al Futtaim, a company that owns and operates shopping centres in the Middle East and North Africa, has raised a $1 billion loan from a group of regional and international banks, the firm said in a statement.

The loan, a revolving credit facility, has a six-year maturity and refinances an $800 million loan raised in 2014 for general corporate purposes.

A number of companies in the Gulf are refinancing their debt obligations ahead of maturity, or adding new leverage to their balance sheets, to avoid having to pay higher debt costs at a later stage due to expected increases in global interest rates.

In the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Steel, the largest steel producer in the country, is working on a $400 million loan, while Dubai property developer Nakheel is raising a loan for a new mall, sources told Reuters this week.

First Abu Dhabi Bank was the sole coordinator and bookrunner of Majid Al Futtaim's loan, and was also the mandated lead arranger and facility agent.

Commercial Bank of Dubai, Gulf International Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank and Union National Bank were mandated lead arrangers. United Bank also participated as lead arranger.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia Editing by Edmund Blair and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) ((Davide.Barbuscia@thomsonreuters.com; +971522604297; Reuters Messaging: davide.barbuscia.reuters.com@reuters.net))