Qtel’s credit facility oversubscribed by 157 per cent

Qtel announced today the successful closing of the General Syndication phase of its new US$2 billion dual tranche revolving credit facility. During the phase, 17 additional banks joined with commitments of US$1.11 billion, bringing the total subscribed amount to US$3.86 billion. This has substantially exceeded the original target of US$1.5 billion.

The facility will be used for general corporate purposes including the refinancing of an existing US$2 billion Forward Start Facility.

The facility was arranged by the following banks: BNP Paribas, DBS Bank Ltd, Qatar National Bank SAQ, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (together the "Bookrunners"). Qatar National Bank acted as the General Financial Adviser to Qtel.

This is the first syndicated corporate loan deal with a five year tenor to be completed since September 2008 in the GCC region, according to the operator.