QAPCO Secures QR1.1 Billion Facility from Barwa Bank

Doha, June 09 (QNA) - Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO), an affiliate of Industries Qatar (IQ), said Sunday it secured a QR 1.1 billion facility from Barwa Bank, one of the fastest growing Shari'ah Compliant banks in Qatar, at very competitive terms. Vice Chairman and CEO of QAPCO Dr. Mohammed Yousef Al-Mulla said today that QAPCO will use this facility if necessary to implement its expansion plans. The company was looking to change its Ethylene 1 and 2 furnaces in investments worth QR600-700 million. This will help the company expand its production of Ethylene by 30,000 to 50,000 tons by the end of 2014 when the expansion is complete. QAPCO currently produces 800,000 tons of ethylene a year. Al-Mulla added that QAPCO plans to establish a storage facility, worth QR300 million for the Ethylene, in addition to performing some maintenance work on the company's factories worth QR700-900 million. The CEO said that QAPCO was in a strong position financially, reflected by its profits in the first quarter of 2013. He expected QAPCO to start using the bank facility by next year. QAPCO chose Barwa out of 10 other local banks, because it provided the best terms, he said. Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of QAPCO Dr. Al-Mulla commented by saying "QAPCO is a successful industrial company and one of the leaders in its field, hence contributing to the diversification of the Qatari economy. As the petrochemical industry is set for exponential growth, we have major expansion plans underway, and are focusing on using and developing the best industrial technologies for this promising future. On the same level, QAPCO only aims for the most recognized, reliable and most successful financial solutions, proven and widely used on a global level, to finance its growth. The Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer added that the interest generated by the bid demonstrates the confidence that the local financial institutions place in supporting the local industrial sector. The bidding process was extremely competitive amongst all the local financial institution and included in-depth and throughout financial and investment analysis and credit risk analysis just to mention a few. Supporting the growth of the local economy via competitive financial facilities is fundamental for the development of the industry. CEO of Barwa Bank Steve Troop commented on the deal: "The selection of Barwa Bank for this deal amidst tough competition from other local and international banks is an important achievement for us financially and strategically as we strive to enhance the positioning of Sharia'h compliant banking and finance as a strategic choice for major local, regional and international companies. This deal is another example of Barwa Bank delivering value to customers, shareholders and the Qatari economy". (QNA)