Egypt’s Canal Sugar in talks with banks for new bridge loan

Egypt’s Canal Sugar is negotiating for a new bridge loan worth 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($127.3 million) to help finance the construction of its new beet sugar factory, which aims to be world’s biggest such plant.

The company spoke with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to lead a banking consortium to secure the loan, sources with knowledge of the talks told Amwal Al Ghad on Tuesday.

Located in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya, the anticipated factory aims to produce 900,000 tonnes of sugar a year.

The roughly $1 billion project is majority-owned by Emirati businessman Jamal al-Ghurair – managing director of Al Khaleej Sugar, and other investors in the UAE, while the remaining 30 percent is owned by Egypt’s Al Ahly Capital Holding.

In March 2019, Sugar Canal secured a bridge loan worth a total of $169 million with a consortium of six banks; the NBE, QNB ALAHLI, AlexBank, the Industrial Development Bank, Suez Canal Bank, and the United Bank. Later in November last year, the company received another tranche worth 1.45 billion.