Saudi Contractor Said to Have Defaulted on $2 Billion of Debt - Bloomberg

Saudi Contractor Said to Have Defaulted on $2 Billion of Debt - Bloomberg:

One of Saudi Arabia’s major contractors defaulted on almost $2 billion after a falling out among its owners and delays in payments from the government, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Saudi unit of Cyprus-based Joannou & Paraskevaides Group defaulted on about 7 billion riyals ($1.9 billion) in bank loans about two months ago, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The defaults are largely the result of problems getting paid by the Ministry of Interior, the people said.

Lenders, which include Arab National Bank, Alawwal Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Emirates NBD PJSC, Saudi British Bank and Samba Financial Group, don’t expect to recover much of the money, the people said.