Bank Audi, mandated lead arranger and bookrunner for a $340m project finance facility to Lafarge Cement Syria

Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group, in addition to coordinating with the European Investment Bank, Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) and the Danish export credit agency Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), led a syndicate of 16 regional banks that consisted of 6 Lebanese banks (Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group, Banque Libano-Française sal, BBAC sal, BLOM Bank sal, Byblos Bank sal, IBL Bank sal), 9 Syrian banks (Arab Bank Syria sa, Bank Al-Sharq sa, Bank Audi Syria sa, Bank of Jordan - Syria, Bank of Syria and Overseas sa, Banque Bemo Saudi-Fransi sa, Byblos Bank Syria sa, Fransabank Syria sa, The International Bank for Trade and Finance) and a Jordanian bank (The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance).

Ramzi Saliba, General Manager - Corporate Banking at Bank Audi sal, seized this opportunity to underline the complexity of this transaction:

"Being the largest project financing for a private entity in the Levant region and having the involvement of multilateral and export credit agencies is certainly a clear indicator of Bank Audi's ability to handle complex and challenging transactions, and of its growing role in the region."

Saliba also emphasised the Bank's versatile ability to match the required financial standards of the number one cement producer in the world.

Commenting on the project, Bassel Hamwi, Deputy Chairman and General Manager of Bank Audi Syria, said: "Today's milestone is yet another testimony of the capacity of the Syrian private sector to take an active part in the development of the country's economy at large, especially that the constantly evolving regulatory and business environment is facilitating the realisation of such projects and setting up a solid platform for further transactions of such complex nature to transpire in the near future."

Stressing on the syndication process, Mrs. Bassima Harb, Head of Syndication and Project Finance at Bank Audi sal, affirmed: "The achieved oversubscription represented by the significant funded commitments from prominent global financial institutions, as well as from major banks in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, at such testing economic conditions, is by all means an overwhelming success and a sign of confidence in the Lafarge Group."

About Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group
Bank Audi is a regional bank. Present in 10 countries through 9 banks, 1 investment company and 2 insurance companies, Bank Audi offers a full range of Commercial and Corporate banking, Retail banking, Private banking and Investment banking products and services, in addition to Insurance activities. Besides its historic presence in Lebanon, France and Switzerland, the Bank has expanded its operations in the MENA region to Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi (through a representative office). At end-September 2009, consolidated assets reached $24.7bn, principally driven by private customers' deposits totalling $21.3bn, while shareholders' equity reached $2.1bn at the same date. Based on all those criteria, Bank Audi ranks among the top 25 Arab banking groups.