said July 18that it signed March 23 a debut $166 million three-year ninja loan facility,the first such transaction for a financial institution in the Gulf CooperationCouncil.

The lender said the facilityattracted strong interest during syndication and was upsized from the originalsize of $100 million, despite challenging market conditions in the Middle East.

The Qatari bank will use theproceeds from the facility for general corporate purposes.

Mizuho Bank Ltd. acted as solecoordinator, sole book runner and mandated lead arranger, documentation agent,signing agent, publicity agent and facility agent in the transaction.Agricultural Bank of China, Seoul branch, State Bank of India and Bank ofTaiwan, Tokyo branch, acted as mandated lead arrangers. The Gunma Bank Ltd. andThe Shizuoka Bank Ltd. were lead arrangers, while Fuyo General Lease (HK) Ltd.acted as an arranger.

Ninja loans are where Japanesefinancial institutions provide financing for overseas borrowers via syndicatedlending.