Starlight Real Estate and Tourism is reportedly in negotiations with a banking consortium to secure a syndicated loan worth up to EGP 10 billion (approximately $520 million). According to informed sources, a major state-owned bank is acting as the lead arranger and promoter of the syndicated loan.
Syndicated loans are relatively large-scale financings arranged for a specific entity or borrower by a group of banks and financial institutions, typically led by a designated bank that acts as the arranger and manager of the financing.
Sources indicate that Starlight intends to use the loan proceeds to finance some of its real estate projects in Cairo and the North Coast.
Starlight is an Egyptian joint-stock company with a portfolio of residential and coastal projects, including Katameya Coast North Coast Village and Katameya Creek in Fifth Settlement.
Katameya Coast project is located on the 180th kilometer of Alexandria-Matrouh Road in the North Coast, with a total area of 205 feddans (approximately 850 acres). Katameya Creek, on the other hand, is situated on a 42-feddan (approximately 173-acre) plot in the Katameya area, with a building density not exceeding 16% of the project’s total area.
As of December 2023, the Egyptian banking sector’s loan portfolio stood at around EGP 5.2 trillion (approximately $270 billion), while deposits reached EGP 10.16 trillion (approximately $530 billion).
This potential loan deal highlights the continued appetite of Egyptian banks to finance major real estate projects, reflecting their confidence in the sector’s growth prospects and the strength of credible developers like Starlight.