Egyptian Palm Hills Borrows EGP2.4bn

Palm Hills, Egypt’s second-largest listed real estate developer said on Tuesday it had agreed to borrow EGP2.4 billion ($335.7 million), mostly to finance existing projects.

It said in a statement the loan agreement had been signed with nine banks and the debt would be repaid over a period of six-and-a-half years.

About EGP1.75 billion will be going towards the developer’s existing projects and 650 million pounds will be used to refinance debts, it said. The company plans to invest 1 billion pounds in 2014.

Palm Hills is involved in 18 development projects, including apartments and luxury villas.

Palm Hills struggled in 2012 after it faced investigations into previous state land sales, and client cancellations after the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

In 2013, Palm Hills said it turned a corner and recorded a profit of EGP239 million. But the company posted an 8.3 percent decline in second-quarter net profits.

U.S. private equity firm Ripple wood acquired a 2.3 percent stake in May, suggesting that international appetite for Egyptian real estate remained. (US$1 dollar = 7.1500 Egyptian pound)