First Gulf Lends $350mn to AKT

First Gulf Bank is providing a $350 million loan to an Indonesian coking coal producer, PT Asmin Koalindo Tuhup (AKT) to meet its working capital needs for exports, the UAE lender said on Sunday.

The deal with AKT, a subsidiary of Borneo Lumbung, is one of the largest bilateral pre-export financing facility deals done by the Abu Dhabi-based bank, it said in a statement.

Trade ties between the Gulf states and Asia-Pacific countries is growing and the deal boosts FGB’s role in the rapidly-growing markets, George Abraham, head of corporate banking at FGB said in the statement.

“We firmly believe in Asia’s fast-paced growth and are optimistic about being a part of this progress,” he said.

FGB has had a wholesale banking branch in Singapore since 2009 and is looking to open four new branches in Hong Kong, South Korea, China and Indonesia, the statement said.