ARABSAT AND SAUDI HOLLANDI BANK SIGN US$300 MILLION MURABAHA CREDIT FACILITY AGREEMENT

ARABSAT AND SAUDI HOLLANDI BANK SIGN US$300 MILLION MURABAHA CREDIT FACILITY AGREEMENT FOR ARABSAT’S STRATEGIC GLOBAL EXPANSION

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 14th December 2007 – Arabsat, the world’s 9th largest satellite operator and the leading provider in the Middle East and North Africa, today signed a strategic agreement with Saudi Hollandi Bank for an Islamic facility that will secure Arabsat’s expansion over the next five years.

The agreement was concluded in the presence of Engineer Khalid A. Balkheyour, Arabsat President & CEO, and Abdulrahman S. Baselm, Arabsat VP Financial Affairs and Abdulelah Al Shaikh, General Manager Corporate Banking Group, Mosaad Al-Hammadi General Manager Central Region. 

The facility will be in accordance with the Murabaha principles of Islamic banking. Saudi Hollandi Bank was the preferred financier of choice for Arabsat following a global tendering process. “We chose Saudi Hollandi Bank over a number of other international financial corporations due to our longstanding relationship with them stretching back to the early 1980s and to their can-do attitude in terms of providing us with the resources that we need to augment our organic growth,” said Engineer Khalid A. Balkheyour.

Arabsat will be launching a satellite every year from 2008 to 2011 to cater to a growing demand in broadcast, telecommunications, and broadband services as well as the launch of high definition television in the Middle East and North Africa region.

To be repaid over a period of five years, Arabsat’s Islamic Murabaha facility will be fully funded by Saudi Hollandi Bank and will be managed by the bank’s Corporate Banking and Islamic Finance departments.

“We are very pleased to support Arabsat’s growth across the region as well as globally; we have worked with Engineer Khalid Balkheyour and his team for many years now, and we’re delighted to be part of their success,” said Abdulelah Al Shaikh, General Manager Corporate Banking Group of Saudi Hollandi Bank. “In a Murabaha Islamic financing the bank will purchase the specified goods from a third party and after transfer of ownership it sells them to the client at cost plus an agreed profit.”

Arabsat currently transmits to more than 164 million viewers both inside and outside of the Arab World. A pioneer in the broadcasting space, Arabsat is set to continue breaking new ground with the commencement of high definition broadcasting in the near future. “We will remain committed to our customers by developing new services for all of our viewers across the region and globally. We’d like to thank Saudi Hollandi Bank for their support and assistance in working with us,” added Engineer Balkheyour.