Sidra Taj

Director, Loan Syndication, Sales & Distribution
Mashreq

Biography

Sidra is a seasoned Corporate Finance and Investment Banking professional, with 15 years of wide-ranging experience in loan origination, structuring, underwriting and distribution, across the GCC, South Asia, Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Far East.

Sidra is currently acting as Director, Syndications & Loan Distribution at Mashreq. Over her 8 years’ association with Mashreq, Sidra successfully led and raised several billions in financings for sovereigns, GREs, supra-nationals, sponsors, corporates and financial institutions across diverse industries and structures including Corporate and FI loans, Project and Infrastructure Finance, Structured Trade Finance, Non-recourse Acquisition Finance etc. Sidra has demonstrated bookrunning and underwriting capabilities in developing niche markets for the bank, including Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, etc.

Before Mashreq, Sidra worked for 6 years in Investment Banking at Habib Bank Limited, with a focus on Project Finance and Financial Advisory, that saw her lead financings for several notable power and infrastructure projects.

Sidra has a BBA (Finance) and the CFA designation, and was the recipient of the "MBA Women in Business” award from the CASS Business School, City University, UK. She takes special interest in the topic of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ and actively promotes inclusion of more women in banking.

Speaker at these events:

Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East 2024

• Unravelling liquidity, competition, risk appetite and the impact on the loan market

Capital Markets & ESG Finance 2024

• Local, regional or international: Who is underwriting, structuring and syndicating loans in and out of Saudi Arabia?

Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East 2021

• The GCC/Africa investment corridor: A banking perspective