Qatar Telecom agrees $500 million debut Islamic finance deal

Qatar Telecom (Qtel), one of the Gulf Arab region’s largest telecoms firms, has signed its debut Islamic financing facility, the operator said on Tuesday.

The $500 million deal, which runs for 18 months and is structured as a revolving Murabaha facility, was provided by Qatar Islamic Bank in a capacity as sole mandated lead arranger, the former monopoly said in an emailed statement.

A murabaha is a sharia-compliant cost-plus-profit arrangement.

Qtel, which operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has sent out requests for proposals (RFPs) to banks for a syndicated loan of up to $1 billion, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing banking sources.