Two bankers told Bloomberg that Tourism Development & Investment Co (TDIC) had been in discussions with banks to obtain a USD 1 billion loan to replace its existing debt. TDIC, owed by Abu Dhabi, is the developer of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums.

According to the sources, the lenders were asked to give their pricing for the loan facility. The new loan would replace TDIC's USD 600 million three-year loan, which would set to mature in December. One of the bankers said the firm was looking to pay no more than the 1.35 percentage points on the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR it pays on its existing debt. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as the discussions were private.

TDIC had been developing USD 27 billion worth of projects on Saadiyat Island. The projects included local branches of Paris and New York museums. Bloomberg reported that the development on the island was part of the push of the government of the United Arab Emirates to diversify its economy's dependence on oil.