Alba becomes first company in Bahrain to refinance its existing Syndicated Loan of $1.247 billion tied to sustainability linked targets

Alba becomes first company in Bahrain to refinance its existing Syndicated Loan of $1.247 billion tied to sustainability linked targets

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world’s largest smelter ex-China, is the first Bahraini Company to have successfully achieved sustainability-linked refinancing for its US$1,247,475,000 Syndicated Loan Facility in connection to the Line 6 Expansion Project. The US$1,247,475,000 senior-unsecured Conventional and Islamic Facility carries an interest margin of 235 basis points per annum over the sum of Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and the Credit Adjustment Spread (CAS). This new facility has an 8-year tenor and the principal amount will be repaid in 16 semi-annual instalments. The margin is subject to an adjustment (upwards or downwards) on an annual basis by an aggregate amount of up to 2.5 basis point tied to three sustainability-linked key performance indicators: Total Waste Recycled (Solid Waste), Training Hours and Lost Time Injury Frequency’s Incident Count. This facility comprises two tranches: a US Dollar-denominated senior unsecured conventional term-loan facility (the Conventional Facility) of US$537,475,000 and a US Dollar-denominated senior Shari’ah-compliant facility (the Islamic Facility) of US$710,000,000. Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C. (Bank ABC), Gulf International Bank B.S.C. (GIB) and National Bank of Bahrain B.S.C. (NBB) were the Coordinators and Underwriters of this transaction with NBB and Standard Chartered Bank serving as joint Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Coordinators.