Egyptian Chemical Industries (KGCH.CA), also referred to as KIMA , will sign a USD 444 million financing agreement with five banks at the end of this month, a senior banker told Zawya. The facility will part-finance a project to upgrade KIMA 's ammonia and urea production unit at Aswan in southern Egypt to make it compatible with using natural gas instead of electricity as a power source, while also doubling its fertilizer capacity to make it the largest producer in the Middle East and North Africa. All participating banks except one have approved the financing and the last one is expected to sign next week, Mahmoud Montasser, board member and head of credit at National Bank of Egypt, told Zawya without naming the stand-out lender. NBE, Banque Misr and Commercial International Bank (Egypt) have agreed to provide USD 100 million each. The remaining USD 144 million is split between Arab African International Bank and Banque Du Caire, Montasser said. KIMA last year signed a contract with Tecnimont of Italy for the refurbishment of its ammonia and urea plant, at a cost of USD 560 million. The company was expected to finalize the financing for the project around the same time, but the political situation in Egypt prevented the final signing, a senior KIMA executive told Zawya on condition of anonymity. Zawya
