Saudi developer Jabal Omar has signed a loan agreement for SR3 billion ($800 million) with the finance ministry to complete some of its projects in Makkah, the company said late Tuesday. “The loan will be repayed over eight years, two of which are a grace period,” according to a statement issued via the bourse. Jabal Omar is in charge of developing an area near the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The project will include luxury hotels, shops and houses. The developer sought shareholder approval last year for a change in its basic charter that would allow it to take on more debt. In May, Jabal Omar's shareholders approved a 38.4 percent capital increase to SR9.3 billion through a rights issue, of which part of the proceeds went to pay back a SR350 million bridge loan from Al-Rajhi Bank. The prospectus posted on the Capital Markets Authority website in May said the largest part of the cost of the first phase of its project will be financed through a syndicated loan from local banks, worth up to SR5 billion. Last year, in October, Jabal Omar secured a SR1.35 billion bridge loan from local banks and said it would finance it through the SR5 billion syndicated loan.
