The investment will result in better quality mobile access in countries with extremely limited telephone services, creating new opportunities for businesses and consumers across the economic spectrum.
IFC will provide a $160 million loan for its own account; it's largest to date in Sub-Saharan Africa. That loan is complemented by another $160 million in syndicated loans with participating commercial banks and parallel loans from bilateral financial institutions. The transaction also marks the first ever mobilization of IFC syndicated loans in Madagascar, Malawi and Sierra Leone, helping to bring long-term (7 year) commercial financing to markets at the frontier of private sector development. The syndication includes three South African banks that are participating in IFC's B-loan program for the first time.
Celtel, which was acquired by MTC of Kuwait in April 2005, will use the funds to modernize and develop the mobile networks in countries with obsolete and inadequate fixed-line networks and very low telephone penetration rates, ranging from just over four phones for every 100 people in Malawi and Madagascar to about 10 per 100 people in Sierra Leone. Since the MTC's acquisition of Celtel it has invested $10 billion in African mobile telecom services.
'Investment in infrastructure such as telecommunications is crucial for Africa's economic development, and our long term collaboration with IFC shows that the private sector can play an important role in fulfilling that need' said Mo Ibrahim, Celtel's Chairman.
Over the past decade, IFC's clients have enabled 80 million subscribers to gain telephone access globally.
'Infrastructure is one of the key bottlenecks and principal reason for the high cost of doing business in Africa, which is a drag on economic competitiveness,' said IFC Vice President for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe Edward Nassim. 'The expansion of mobile telephone services to previously underserved areas will help create a more favorable environment for businesses to operate, thereby creating jobs and contributing to poverty reduction.'
'Since our first cellular investment in the former Zaire in 1989, IFC has continued to invest heavily in the sector in Africa and to strengthen our partnership with companies such as Celtel' said Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank Group's Global Information and Communication Technologies department. 'Africa is now the fastest growing cellular market, leading the world with truly innovative service offerings such as Celtel's borderless free roaming across six countries in Africa.'
IFC has a relationship with Celtel that dates to 1994, through a series of investments with both the holding company and the operating subsidiaries, including in Sierra Leone and Zambia. These investments have contributed to the dramatic growth in mobile phone penetration levels, increased competition and reduced tariffs.
Africa calling: IFC mobilizes USD320 million to improve and expand MTC-Celtel services
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today announced its largest financing to date in Sub-Saharan Africa, a USD320 million package, to five operations of Celtel International B.V. (an MTC subsidiary) to help expand and upgrade its fast growing mobile networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
- Kuwait: Thursday, June 14 - 2007 at 10:29
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IFC Financing DetailsIFC A-loan = US$160 million
IFC B-loan = US$131 million
IFC Parallel Loans = US$29 million
Celtel DRC
$75 million A-loan, US$64 million in B-loan; $11 million in parallel loans
Celtel Madagascar
$25 million in A-loan, $21 million in B-loan: $4 million in parallel loans
Celtel Malawai
$15 million in A-loan, $9.5 million in B-loan; $5.5 million in parallel loans
Celtel Sierra Leone
$25 million in A-loan, $25 million in B-loan
Celtel Uganda
$20 million in A-loan, $11.5 million in B-loan; $8.5 million in parallel loans
IFC B-Loan Participants
Cordiant
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund Limited
FirstRand Bank Limited
Investec Bank Limited
Nedbank Limited
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)
Parallel Lenders
DEG- Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
PROPARCO
About IFC
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes open and competitive markets in developing countries. IFC supports sustainable private sector companies and other partners in generating productive jobs and delivering basic services, so that people have opportunities to escape poverty and improve their lives. Through FY06, IFC Financial Products has committed more than $56 billion in funding for private sector investments and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC Advisory Services and donor partners have provided more than $1 billion in program support to build small enterprises, to accelerate private participation in infrastructure, to improve the business enabling environment, to increase access to finance, and to strengthen environmental and social sustainability. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org
About MTC & Celtel
A fully owned subsidiary of MTC Kuwait, Celtel is the most successful pan-African mobile network, offering telecommunications services to more people in Africa than any other network. The company is one of the best-known branded businesses in Africa with mobile licenses covering more than 400 million people, close to half of Africa's population. Under the brand promise of 'Making Life Better', the company is committed to achieving sustainable development of telecommunications in Africa. Celtel has more than 20 million customers and operates mobile cellular operations in 14 countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. For more information please visit www.celtel.com
MTC is a leading provider of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and Africa. MTC employs 13,000 people providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 29.7 million active individual and business customers. In the Middle East, the company operates in Kuwait and Bahrain under the brand name mtc-vodafone, in Jordan as Fastlink, in Iraq as mtc-atheer, in Lebanon as mtc-touch and in Sudan as 'Mobitel'.
The Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC (the parent company) is a Kuwaiti shareholding company and its shares are traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The company's market capitalisation at 13 June 2007 exceeded US$ 29.5 billion.
Contacts:
IFC
In Cape Town
Desmond Dodd
ZA +27 834489873 Call
In Johannesburg
Houtan Bassiri
ZA +27 117313179 Call
In Washington, DC
Henny Rahardja
US +1 2024734857 Call
MTC-Celtel
In Amsterdam
Mwambu Wanendeya
NL +31 235542673 Call
In Kuwait
Antoine Aboukhalil
KW +965 9006974 Call
LB +961 3733880 Call
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorThursday, June 14 - 2007 at 10:29 UAE local time (GMT+4)
Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
This Article was updated on Friday, June 15 - 2007
Index : Company News : Zain (MTC)
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Any opinions, advice, statements, offers or other information expressed in this section of the AME Info Web site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited. AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited is not responsible or liable for the content, accuracy or reliability of any material, advice, opinion or statement in this section of the AME Info Web site.
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