The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), a leading bank in the UAE, has been recognised by prestigious international publications for a series of 2009 project financing deals that the bank played a leading role in facilitating and executing.

EuroMoney, a London-based publication that covers international capital markets, ranked the $4.1 billion financing to Dolphin Energy as the Middle East Oil & Gas Deal of Year 2009.

Another London-based publication, Global Trade Review, selected the same deal as one of the Best Deals of the Year 2009.

The Dolphin Energy financing provided financing for the construction of 364 km of pipelines to bring natural gas from Ras Laffan, Qatar, to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah, Fujairah and Oman. NBAD is the largest provider and served as the facility agent in the execution of this package, which involved 25 banks.

In addition, the Zayed University PPP project financing transaction was adjudged the Middle East PPP Deal of the Year 2009 and the second independent sewage treatment plant financing transaction as the Middle East Waste Water Deal of the Year 2009 by EuroMoney.

The three projects brought together a variety of different funding options and financiers, such as mezzanine and Islamic financing.

In addition to providing financing for these projects, NBAD played a significant role in providing interest rate hedging and agency requirements for the transactions.

“Each of these projects – construction of pipelines to bring natural gas to the UAE, supporting higher education and developing the country’s water management system – are steps in the right direction to lay the foundations to diversify the national economy,” said Michael Tomalin, NBAD’s group chief executive.

Mark Yassin, the senior general manager of NBAD’s corporate & investment banking division, said: “NBAD offered financing for these mega projects during the peak of the global financial crisis reflecting its strong position even during the most troubled times for financial institutions.”

Euroweek, a London-based publication covering the global capital markets, and the Banker magazine, published by the Financial Times Group, also awarded NBAD the Deal of Year in its Emerging Market Award Poll 2009 for its $ 850 million fixed-rate notes, which represented the first US dollar-denominated international public transaction by a GCC Financial Institution since 2007.

That deal successfully established a benchmark and a new pricing reference for GCC financial institutions, a statement said. – TradeArabia News Service