Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, is eyeing a share of three Middle Eastern project finance opportunities worth an estimated $41 billion and spread across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and North Africa.
Barclays has shown interest in the Umm al-Nar (IWPP) project in Abu Dhabi, on which requests for proposals are due to go out to developers by the end of March, confirmed Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Capital, Middle East and North Africa Elie Khouri.
"Among the other target projects in the Gulf is the Dolphin gas pipeline from Qatar to the UAE, on which Credit Suisse First Boston is the client's financial adviser, the third and fourth trains at Qatar's Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company (Rasgas), and the first of what may be a series of gas-to-liquids (GTL) schemes in Qatar," added Khouri.
Khouri added that Barclays Capital is currently working on a $900 million leasing venture project for Saudi military in Riyadh, one of the largest deals of its kind involving foreign banks in the Kingdom. "KSA is already one of the region's most lucrative markets for Barclays Capital and we are looking forward to the passage of new capital market legislation that would allow foreign banks to set up sales offices in the kingdom," he said.
Barclays Capital's was recently selected as advisor for Egypt's $800 million wireless local loop project that will be carried out on a revenue-sharing basis between Telecom Egypt and the Raneen Consortium. It is now keeping a close watch on the Saudi gas initiative, which will require a minimum investment of $25 billion in gas extraction and downstream sectors.
According to MEED’s recent league table, Barclays Capital is the leading international arranger of GCC project and asset-backed corporate finance. Barclays Capital was propelled to pole position by a series of successful deals including its role in the $ 1.4 million conventional debt for Abu Dhabi's Shuweihat power and water desalination project.
Barclays Capital raised $ 2.6 billion in 2001 for four Middle East schemes for which it worked as one of the lead arrangers. These included Shuwaihat, the Ras Laffan power scheme, the fourth phase of the Fertilizer Company in Qatar and the Suez and East Port Said power stations in Egypt. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
