Yasref refinery secures $4.7 bln international loan

Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co. (Yasref), a  joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), has secured a $4.7 billion syndicated loan to refinance  shareholder funds used for its construction, Reuters reported on Friday.

The unsecured loan, which was obtained from 26 local, regional and international financial institutions, was oversubscribed, the refinery said.

The loan is divided into two, seven-year term tranches. The dollar-denominated facility totals $3.1 billion and is priced at a margin of 105 basis points (bps) over the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR). It was secured from 17 regional and international institutions.

The second facility, worth SAR 6 billion, is priced at a margin of 100 bps over the Saudi interbank offered rate. It was obtained from nine local financial institutions, Yasref added.

Saudi Aramco owns a 62.5 percent stake in Yasref, while Chinese Sinopec owns the remaining 37.5 percent stake.