State-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is in talks with an Asian development bank to borrow more than USD 600 mn, Al Masdar reports. The loan will be divided into two tranches, the first part of which is valued at USD 600 mn and should be finalized before the end of the year, the bank’s head of financial institutions, Hesham Elsafty, told the newspaper. The value of the second tranche has not yet been agreed but should be signed off on during 1Q2022, he said.

NBE is also negotiating with France’s development finance agency to obtain two credit facilities. The bank has already signed the contract for the first USD 100 mn facility and talks are ongoing for the second.

Big borrowing plans: NBE is looking to borrow USD 1.5 bn from international institutions in 2022, Deputy Chairman Yehia Aboul Fotouh said earlier this month.

This follows a lot of borrowing in 2021: The bank raised a three-year USD 1 bn syndicated loan from a group of banks in May. It also borrowed USD 200 mn from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the OPEC Fund to channel into infrastructure projects, and a USD 20 mn credit facility from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to on-lend to SMEs.