A bill on a guarantee agreement signed between Tunisia and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) was passed, Tuesday, at a plenary session of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR).

It is a USD 150 million State guarantee agreement pertaining to a USD 300 million “Mourabaha” agreement between ITFC, a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) group, and the Tunisian Company for Refining Industries (STIR).

The financing agreement seeks to fund STIR imports of crude oil and oil products; the amount will be released over one year in two tranches of USD 150 million each.

The loan is reimbursable six months after its release at a fixed annual interest rate of 3.25%.

The financial deficit of STIR which provides 30% of local oil needs is estimated at 524 MTD while its debts with other firms reached 346 MTD, said Industry, Energy and Mining Minister Zakaria Hamad.

Source: Zawya