Standard Chartered Bahrain
Standard Chartered has been in Bahrain longer than in any other market in the region, having established its first branch in the Kingdom in 1920. Its ties and connections to the business community make it the obvious first point of call to Asian companies as they expand into the region – and to local firms looking to export to Asia.
In early 2017, Standard Chartered was one of three lenders hired by Manama-based Bahrain LNG to lead a $741 million syndicated loan for the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal that is set to be completed by February 2019.
The other two lenders involved were Korea Development Bank and Saudi Arabia-based Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation.
The transaction underlined the UK lender’s expertise in Asia and the Middle East, and the strength of its local connections. It was the first LNG regasification project to be developed as a public-private partnership, and marked the first sizeable project financing deal completed in Bahrain since 2011.
StanChart was instrumental in creating a risk framework and financing structure that can be used for similar transactions in future. It was the kind of deal we are increasingly used to seeing in the Middle East: one that brings together regional energy assets, Asian multinationals and world-class financial service providers.
The bank’s country chief executive is Boutros Klink.