RIYADH, 21 March 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s Arab National Bank (ANB) said yesterday it had secured a three-year syndicated loan worth $350 million, adjusting its balance sheet for possible long-term project financing. “We are now seeing more and more opportunities for long-term loans in the power and petrochemicals sectors in Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere,” said Mannaging Director Nemeh Sabbagh “So we decided to lengthen the maturity profile of our liabilities,” Sabbagh told Reuters. He said syndication of ANB’s loan, priced at 37.5 basis points over LIBOR, was complete and the bank expected to sign the deal within a week or 10 days. Twenty-six banks have joined the loan, nine of them from Saudi Arabia or other Arab countries.