Al Khalij Commercial Bank (Al Khaliji) successfully closed a facility to finance the joint venture among Midmac Contracting, Porr Qatar Construction and Six Construct Qatar for the ‘Al Wakrah stadium, precinct main works and masterplan project.
This, the bank said, was in line with its continuous support to Qatar’s mega projects development.
In addition to Al Khaliji’s financing package, the bank will also play the role of ‘Project account bank’ for the transaction.
Al Khaliji Group chief executive officer Fahad al-Khalifa said: “Our financing of a project of such national importance — a project that will essentially place Qatar at the global heart of sport — is testament to our commitment and support to major plans that aim to bring the economic and social development of Qatar to the next level.”
“Whether large scale projects that impact the nation as a whole, or smaller developments that move the country towards a knowledge-based economy in accordance with QNV2030, Al Khaliji is ready, willing, and has the capacity to provide the necessary financial support. We will continue to broaden our future projects focusing on infrastructure and logistic financing, leading up to the 2022 World Cup”.
The bank said the choice of Al Khaliji was “a result of close relationship” with all the three JV partners, and their past experience based on “exceptional service” provided to them on projects financed by the bank in the past — including the ongoing Lusail CP4 for Midmac — and the “well-structured” facility package that meets the clients’ requirements, in a record turnaround time.
Al Khaliji said it will continue to focus its growth and activities in Qatar, its home market.
Due to the bank’s strength in lending, strong capitalisation and the long track record of solid performance, Fitch awarded Al Khaliji a long-term Issuer Default Rating of ‘A+’.
Moody’s Investor Services has also recently assigned credit rating of A3 to Al Khaliji with a ‘stable’ outlook.