Senaat steel pipe unit secures $185 million loan from Japanese banks

Japan Bank for International Cooperation provided $111 million of the funds, with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi providing the remainder.

Senaat, the industrial conglomerate, said on Tuesday that its Al Gharbia Pipe Company unit had secured a US$185 million loan agreement with a consortium of Japanese and UAE banks.

The pipe company has a pro­duction capacity of up to 240,000 tonnes per year, Senaat said. Senaat, which owns 51 per cent of Al Gharbia Pipe Company, said that Japan Bank for International Cooperation provided $111m of the funds, with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi providing the remainder.

The industrial firm said that the loan represented one of the “lowest costs of financing” that Senaat had received, adding that the total investment in the Al Gharbia Pipe Company is expected to reach Dh1.1 billion.

“The transaction is expected to provide Al Gharbia Pipe Company with stable financing for at least the next 10 years,” Senaat said.

Abu Dhabi is seeking to diversify its economic base by adding manufacturing capacity in a range of industries.

Senaat said its pipe manufacturing facility, located in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), was the first of its kind, establishing local production of high-grade pipes with Japanese advanced steel pipe production technology.

Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation and Marubeni-Itochu Steel are also part of the consortium that established Al Gharbia Pipe Company last year.

Senaat said last year it plans to invest Dh5bn in industrial projects over the coming two years.

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