National Central Cooling Company, known as Tabreed, returned to the Islamic finance market with an AED1.8 billion equivalent dual-tranche syndicated term facility that underscores the utility’s growing focus on sustainable infrastructure.
Structured entirely under Shariah principles, the financing combines dirham and US-dollar legs, giving the borrower flexibility to match operating cash flows in the UAE with foreign-currency obligations tied to its expanding overseas portfolio.
The transaction is split into two tranches tailored to Tabreed’s immediate strategic priorities. Roughly AED1 billion is allocated to green projects, enabling the company to fund new district-cooling plants and retrofit existing networks with high-efficiency technology. A second tranche of about AED800 million provides general corporate funding, smoothing liquidity ahead of upcoming capital-market maturities and supporting day-to-day working-capital needs.
By positioning the green tranche at the heart of the structure, Tabreed signalled to regulators and to investors that environmental considerations now sit alongside credit metrics as a core driver of its funding strategy.
The tight execution window reflects the borrower’s preparation and the lenders’ confidence in the district-cooling model
Pricing achieved within the facility’s club-style syndication highlights sustained appetite for well-rated UAE utility credits despite global rate volatility. The deal also demonstrates the breadth of Islamic liquidity available for hybrid dirham-and-dollar structures, with Tabreed attracting commitments rapidly enough to prefund the loan before year-end, ensuring construction timelines for new plants remained on track.
The tight execution window reflects the borrower’s preparation and the lenders’ confidence in the district-cooling model, which now spans 92 plants across six countries.
Mashreq Al Islami acted as joint lead arranger and bookrunner, coordinating syndication, structuring and green framework alignment for the facility.
