Sohar International Financing (IFC-47713)

Countries
  • Oman
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
May 24, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Sohar International Bank SAOG
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 200.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 200.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 17, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Apr 11, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the Project is a senior loan of up to US$200 million with a 5-year tenor (including a grace period of up to 3 years) to Sohar International Bank SAOG (“Sohar” or the “Bank”). IFC’s own account investment is expected to be US$150 million, with the remaining to be financed by the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (“MCPP”) for which IFC will act as the implementing entity. The use of proceeds for this Project is on-lending to eligible climate finance projects in The Sultanate of Oman including (but not limited to) renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean transportation.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The Project is categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC Sustainability Policy. For this Project, IFC's E&S requirements will be the IFC Exclusion List, applicable environmental and social national laws and regulations in The Sultanate of Oman and screening out Higher E&S risk transactions as contemplated in the Performance Standards for eligible climate finance portfolio. The Project will not support any activities on IFC Exclusion List, coal-related activities, large-scale wind and solar energy projects where higher risk activities have been identified, and/or borrowers involved in higher-risk business activities involving a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, or d) significant occupational health and safety risks

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

 The Project will be a US$200 million senior loan facility with a 5-year tenor (including a 3-year grace period) to Sohar for on-lending to climate finance eligible projects in The Sultanate of Oman. IFC will be investing US$150 million from its own account and the remaining US$50 million will be mobilized via the MCPP.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

 As of 31st March 2024, the largest shareholders of the Bank are Royal Court of Affairs and Oman Investment and Finance Company with 13.76% and 13.03% shareholding, respectively. 


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Sohar International Bank SAOG
Mr. Abbas Hassan Al Lawati
Head Of Treasury, Investment & Capital Markets
+968-2403-7316
abbas.allawati@soharinternational.com
P.O. Box 44, Hai Al Mina, PC 114, Sultanate of Oman
https://www.soharinternational.com/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works