Saudi’s Tasnee Signs $319m Loan To Buy More Of Cristal

Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialisation Co (Tasnee) signed a SAR1.2 billion ($319.4 million) Islamic loan it will use to part-fund buying a further stake in its subsidiary Cristal, the industrial manufacturer said on Thursday.

The five-year murabaha loan – a sharia-compliant cost-plus-profit arrangement – is with Riyad Bank and Saudi British Bank. It has a one-year grace period and the option for a one-year extension, with payment due in equal semi-annual instalments.

In December, Tasnee bought 13 per cent in Cristal – one of the world’s largest producers of titanium dioxide – for SAR1.8 billion.