Cairo – Mubasher: State-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC) has hired HSBC Bank to arrange a $1 billion loan, two banking sources said.

The sources added that the loan was being requested by Petroleum Export Limited (PEL), a special purpose vehicle used by Egypt’s national oil company, to raise a number of loans in the past, Reuters reported.

The credit facility will be a structured finance deal and its proceeds will partly be used to pre-pay EGPC's cargo deliveries, the sources highlighted.

They noted that the pre-payment loan for EGPC with a five-year maturity is currently being syndicated to other lenders, according to the London-based news agency. 

On a related note, Hamdi Abdelaziz, the petroleum ministry's spokesman, dismissed the report, stressing that there were no deals concluded through this financial year and until now.