Egypt's Orascom Development to get loan from its chairman 

(MENAFN) Egypt's Orascom Development Holding will get credit line of USD83 million from company chairman and majority owner Samih Sawiris to help finance construction projects this year, Bloomberg reported.

Sawiris will additionally guarantee a USD55.4 million of bank loans, according to CFO Mahmoud Zuaiter.

The two-year line of credit is priced at "Swiss market rates," which are 3 percent to 4 percent today, Zuaiter said, adding that Orascom has withdrawn about USD27.7 million of the credit line to date.

He also said that Orascom Development's management is working out how much financing will be needed for new projects in 2013, and is negotiating financing for capital expenditure with banks.

In January, the company said that it had finalized up to USD1.15 billion of financing as a result of the commitments of the chairman, without giving further details.

Orascom needs the funding to complete unfinished hotel projects in Oman and Switzerland. The company lost USD77.2 million in 2011, as its sales suffered from Egypt's political uprising.