March 13, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1429

KARACHI, March 12: Allied Bank will provide the largest financing of Rs13 billion to a cement factory in Pakistan.

A signing ceremony was held on Wednesday to mark the financial close of Rs13 billion multiple syndicated facilities arranged by Allied Bank for Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCFL).

The ceremony was attended by Mohammad Aftab Manzoor, CEO, Allied Bank and Tariq Sayeed Saigol, chairman, MLCFL. Also present on the occasion were Jawaid Iqbal, head of corporate and investment banking group, Allied Bank; and Bushra Naz Malik, CFO, MLCFL.

Allied Bank was mandated by MLCFL as financial adviser and lead arranger for multiple facilities totalling Rs13 billion, which is the largest ever financing to a cement company in Pakistan.

To fully capitalise on the domestic market conditions, Allied Bank designed a custom-made transaction structure for the balance sheet restructuring and debt re-profiling for MLCFL. The transaction structure provided the company with substantial savings in its financial costs along with easing out its immediate debt burden.

The financing facilities comprised of an Rs8 billion sukuk issue, Rs2.5 billion TFCs and Rs2.5 billion syndicated term finance facility. These facilities comprised of commercial banks, development financial Institutions and asset management companies.