Dubai Islamic Bank finalizes AED 195 million syndication for Tabreed

The plants have been financed by a long-term syndication agreement between DIB and Tabreed, at a cost of AED 195 million.

The joint financing deal has seen the complete construction of two cooling plants in a four-plant development deal that was signed between the two parties in 2001.

The entire amount is repayable by Tabreed over a 12-year period. DIB provided 60 per cent of the finance structure for the agreement while Tabreed made up the remaining 40 per cent.

"DIB seeks to increase its contribution to the growth of Islamic finance in the UAE and the region," said Mr Butti Khalifa bin Darwish, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Islamic Bank. "The significance of this agreement with Tabreed is further underscored by the fact that it is one of the first long-term financing deals done by banks across the Middle East, thereby emphasising our commitment to developing the infrastructure in the region."

"This agreement is a unique funding mechanism which utilised syndicated Islamic finance (Ijara) to provide a financing structure tailored to the needs of Tabreed," he added.

The completion of these two additional cooling plants now takes the total number of cooling stations built by Tabreed to 14. Located throughout the UAE, the stations provide cooling solutions, such as air conditioning facilities for both commercial and residential purposes.

Commenting on the company's future plans, Mr. Dani Safi, Managing Director of Tabreed, said: "Tabreed is committed to long term investments in providing state-of-the-art cooling solutions in the UAE and the Middle East. We are honoured to have worked with a professional banking institution like DIB in this project and look forward to strengthening our relationship further." In this regard Tabreed also declared that it would only seek Islamic financing for its future projects.