|
Dubai: Emirates NBD, the UAE's largest bank, is keen to explore acquisition opportunities in the Turkish banking sector to benefit from strong Turkish econ-omic growth and expansion in trade links with the UAE, a senior official said.
"If there is an opportunity, we are interested. Turkey is an important market for us," Abdul Wahid Al Fahim, general manager of wholesale banking at Emirates NBD, told Gulf News from Istanbul, where the bank announced two syndicated loan deals worth $470 million with Turkish banks.
Asked if the bank has any ongoing talks with any Turkish companies for stake acquisition, Al Fahim said: "There is nothing specific at this time."
He said the bank has been increasing its trade finance activities in Turkey.
Emirates NBD considers Turkey for "natural extension of business" outside the Gulf region.
"Being located in close proximity and having strong ties with both Eur-ope and the Middle East, Turkey represents a very attractive market for us and we will continue to explore attractive business and strategic opportunities in the country," Al Fahim said in a statement.
Banks from the Middle East contributed $90 million to a $300-million syndicated loan arranged by Emirates NBD for Tekstil Bankasi of Turkey.
Borrowings under the facility will be used by Tekstilbank for its trade financing activities.
Total 34 banks participated in the deal with 50 per cent of the total amount coming from Europe, 30 per cent coming from the Middle East and 20 per cent coming from the Americas.
In another syndicated loan deal arranged by the UAE bank, Sekerbank has borrowed $170 million.
A total of 21 banks, including Commerzbank AG, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich and Wachovia Bank, participated in the loan. Sekerbank will use the funds for its trade financing activities. The facility has a tenor of 364 days and pays a margin of 0.8 per cent over Libor and Euribor.
The dual-currency facility comprises of a dollar denominated tranche of $95.5 million and a euro-denominated tranche of 49.1 million euros. The facility achieved an oversubscription of 1.7 times. This was the second time that Emirates NBD had arranged a syndicated loan for Sekerbank.
|
