Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank grants $80m Ijara facility to Oman Shipping Company

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has agreed to grant a $80m shariah-compliant Ijara facility to state-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC), to finance two VLCC (very large crude carriers) tankers within the OSC group.

The transaction illustrates ADIB’s commitment to finance assets in the marine and energy sectors, a statement said.

Christopher Phillips, head of ship finance at ADIB, said: “ADIB has significant experience and expertise working on Middle East shipping deals across the full range of industry segments. Over the years we have been able to add significant value to partners across a wide range of innovative structures in terms of both bilateral and syndicated facilities.”

Michael Jorgensen, chief financial officer and acting chief executive officer at OSC, added: “ADIB’s team were able to provide a competitive Ijara facility which served our needs, allowing us to finance two VLCC tankers and further support our expansion plans.”

Founded in 2003, OSC is an international full-scale shipping company with a diversified fleet of 53 modern vessels (owned and chartered-in), the statement said.

OSC is owned by the governorate of the Sultanate of Oman through the Asyad Group (Oman Global Logistics group), according to the company website.

ADIB commenced commercial operations in November 1998 with a paid-up capital of Dhs1bn.

ADIB concluded over 15 high profile transactions across structured and syndicated finance, sukuk, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and advisory products in 2019, the statement said.

In the Islamic capital markets, ADIB operated as a joint lead manager & bookrunner on several sukuk mandates including Majid al Futtaim’s first ever Green Corporate sukuk, Warba bank and Al Dar, the statement said.

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