DUBAI – Metito receives a $30 million syndicated loan from Bank of China and IFC, to help expand essential services in the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and Asia.
The investment will help Metito as it develops water treatment projects across the MENA region and parts of Asia. This will increase the availability of drinking water, improve waste water treatment infrastructure, reduce waste costs, and decrease health risks to local communities.
Metito is the first company to obtain long-term financing from Bank of China as part of the IFC B Loan program, a syndicated loan structure that introduces new banking relationships to the borrower.This investment is part of IFC’s wider efforts to help companies expand into emerging markets, to transfer knowledge and expertise and improve access to essential infrastructure.
“With support from IFC and Bank of China, we’ll be able to embark on new projects, providing quality water treatment solutions in water scarce areas,” said Rami Ghandour, Metito Managing Director.
Metito is headquartered in Dubai and is active throughout the MENA region, Indonesia, and China. The company also owns and operates six wastewater treatment plants in China, with four more projects under construction.
“Access to water is a fundamental challenge to economic development and growth,” said Chunyan Cai, SEO of Bank of China Middle East (Dubai) Limited, covering the MENA area. “With this long-term investment, which is hard to obtain in challenging markets, Bank of China will help support Metito as a leading provider of essential water and waste water management solutions in water stressed regions.”
In June 2013, IFC provided $50 million in loans to Metito and arranged another $20 million from the German development finance institution, DEG, to strengthen the company’s capital structure and support its expansion.
“This partnership demonstrates the potential for infrastructure investment in MENA, one of the most water scarce regions in the world,” said Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Water scarcity is a global concern and IFC will continue to help boost water efficiency to meet the growing demand.”