QatarEnergy has secured a $3 billion loan from four Chinese banks, according to people familiar with the matter, another sign that financial firms are still willing to lend to certain Gulf borrowers despite the protracted US-Iran conflict. Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank (Asia) were the four lenders on the five-year facility. The deal was priced at 50 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, with proceeds for general working capital. None of the parties responded to requests for comment.
The loan comes as QatarEnergy’s LNG exports remain severely impaired. The company extended force majeure on deliveries to Asia and Europe through end-November, Ras Laffan (the world’s largest LNG export plant) remains damaged after the March attacks, and Reuters calculations in August put lost sales at $24 billion with exports down as much as 96 percent. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz are ticking up but remain over 75 percent below pre-war levels. CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said last month the company had decided against using pipelines as a Hormuz alternative on commercial and technical grounds.
Bloomberg data show Chinese banks’ lending to the Gulf jumped more than fivefold last year to a record $11.5 billion excluding bilateral loans, and syndicated-deal capital flows this year are roughly in line with 2024 patterns despite the conflict. Qatar National Bank is separately seeking a $2 billion loan with ICBC among the arrangers.