Raysut Cement has announced that its Board of Directors has approved moves for a fresh term loan of OMR64m (US$166.2m) from three Omani banks.

The board has given its approval at a meeting held on Wednesday and, accordingly, Raysut will seek OMR64m in funding from BankDhorfar, BankMuscat and Oman Arab Bank to refinance the existing loan of a higher installment and interest totaling about OMR19m a year for a tenure of five years.

According to Raysut, the new loan will help extend the tenure of the loan from 5-10 years, thereby reducing the installment and interest rate. Furthermore, the move will allow for installments to be stepped up so that the load is more towards the end. “This would provide us with the flexibility in cash flow to make available more funds for investment as well as to pay healthy dividend,” Mohammed bin Ahmed al Dheeb, Group CEO, said in a statement to the Capital Market Authority.