Tunisia Borrows $400M from Local Banks

Tunisia Borrows $400M from Local Banks
TT
20

Tunisia Borrows $400M from Local Banks

Tunisia Borrows $400M from Local Banks

Tunisia's Finance Ministry has signed a syndicated loan of €356 million (usd399.6 million) from a pool of twelve local banks to finance the state budget.

The loan agreement was signed on March 26, 2019, by the minister of finance Ridha Chalghoum and the managers of the 12 banks in the presence of the governor of the central bank of Tunisia, Marouen Abassi.

Two forms of repayment of this loan are planned, according to the choice of banks. The first formula is paying back three equal installments over three years with an interest rate fixed at 2.25%.

The second formula is to repay the credit in one installment, after three years and with an interest rate of 2.5%, the ministry said in a statement.

Chalghoum said the credit is “a form of financing appropriate to the conditions and cost.”

Abassi hoped that the Tunisian economy would achieve the desired growth and hopes for investment, which would promote production and ensure liquidity in foreign exchange and in Tunisian dinar.

In this context, Ezzeddine Saidan, a Tunisian economic and financial expert, said that such an agreement injects the Tunisian economy that is suffering a scarcity in resources with fresh blood. He added that the delay in the sixth payment of the IMF loan makes funding the public finance an urgent matter.

This is the second time the Tunisian government borrows from foreign banks in a three-year period – in 2017, it took a EUR250 million loan to fund the state budget.



ACWA Power Signs Agreements with European Companies to Export Renewable Energy

The European companies included France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Edison and Germany's EnBW (file photo)
The European companies included France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Edison and Germany's EnBW (file photo)
TT
20

ACWA Power Signs Agreements with European Companies to Export Renewable Energy

The European companies included France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Edison and Germany's EnBW (file photo)
The European companies included France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Edison and Germany's EnBW (file photo)

Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power company signed several memoranda of understanding with European companies to export renewable energy and green hydrogen from the kingdom to Europe, the Saudi energy ministry said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The European companies included France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Edison and Germany's EnBW.

The Saudi company also signed separate agreements with other companies including Germany's Siemens Energy to develop energy transmission corridors.