Standard Chartered
Project finance is one of the most competitive areas of Islamic finance, with both international and local banks showcasing their talents. One of the candidates for the award was Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank, which had a strong year participating in five project finance transactions in the Kingdom. But the bank that stands out more than any other is Standard Chartered. Among its deals was the first ever limited-recourse project financing in Djibouti, for $263 million. The project entails the development of a greenfield container terminal in Djibouti by DP World and the Djibouti government. The transaction includes the first-ever political risk coverage by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which is part of the World Bank Group, for an Islamic project financing. The new container terminal is expected significantly to improve port facilities and help Djibouti become a business hub in northeast Africa.
Another impressive transaction was the $150 million project financing facility for Engro Chemical Pakistan to set up a 1.3 million tonnes a year fertilizer plant. The financing is the biggest investment by a private domestic entity in Pakistan’s history.
