Bahri Dry Bulk Secures Newbuild Finance
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Bahri Dry Bulk, a business unit of global transportation and logistics leader Bahri, has announced that it has secured a Sharia-compliant funding of SAR 360 million (USD 96mln) from Bank Albilad, one of the fast-growing banks in Saudi Arabia.
The fund is to finance the purchase of four new bulk carriers as part of an agreement signed by the company in 2017 with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD), a member of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group, the world’s largest shipbuilding company based in South Korea.
The credit facility, which will be paid over six months, and has a tenure of 13 years including a three-year grace period, will be used to finance 80% of the agreement concluded on 27 August last year. The company has provided all the necessary guarantees for obtaining the loan, including a pledge of the four carriers upon delivery from the shipbuilding yard.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Bank Albilad to obtain this Sharia-compliant credit facility for purchasing the four carriers, which we signed in the fourth quarter of 2017 with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group, to enable us to cater to the growing demand for the import of essential grains into KSA,” said Ali Al-Harbi, CFO of Bahri.
Established in 2010 as a 60/40 joint venture between Bahri and Arabian Agricultural Services Company (ARASCO), Bahri Dry Bulk is a leading bulk carrier in Saudi Arabia specializing in the transportation of grain, coal and other dry bulk cargoes. The company currently owns and operates a state-of-the-art, large capacity, fuel-efficient fleet of five dry bulk vessels.