Gulf firms may raise refinery projects

Manama: Gulf companies may raise about $30 billion this year to fin-ance their refinery, power and water projects, Christophe Mariot, BNP Paribas SA's head of structured finance for the Middle East, said at a conference in Bahrain yesterday.

GDF Suez SA and Saudi Electricity Co plan to raise about $1.8 billion (Dh6.61 billion) through syndicated bank loans and export-credit facilities to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia, two bankers with knowledge of the transaction said on March 8. Saudi Arabian Oil Co, the world's biggest crude producer, and Total SA hired banks to sell Islamic bonds to fund construction of a $12 billion oil refinery, two bankers with knowledge of the transaction said on February 21.

Saudi Electricity, the largest utility provider in the Middle East, plans to invest $28 billion in the next three years to meet an annual 8 per cent increase in demand in the kingdom, spurred by a growing population and financed through a $400 billion, five-year government-spending programme.