Banks Grant MTN N318 Billion Loan Facilities

MTN Nigeria, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications company has received fresh loan facilities to enable the company further expand its network across the country.
A consortium of 15 Nigerian banks are extending a facility of N250 billion to the company which was upscaled from N207 billion when it was 151% subscribed, while further funding totaling some $450 million is being provided by two foreign banks.
MTN Nigeria’s heavy investment in infrastructure to enhance the quality and capacity of its network over 2008 and 2009 helped boost subscriber numbers.  As at 31 March 2010, MTN Nigeria recorded over 33 million customers. 
Mr. Ahmad Farroukh, MTN chief executive officer, at the formal signing of the loan agreements in Lagos described the development as “another historical milestone in the development of telecommunications in Nigeria.”
As the largest ever Naira-denominated syndication in the country, this record-breaking financing follows the fund raising of a $2bn facility raised in 2007 which won African Telecoms Deal of the Year by Euromoney. At the time, it was the largest facility granted to a single country telecommunications operator in Africa. MTN Nigeria also won this prestigious award for its maiden financing in 2003.
The following banks participated in the Naira denominated syndication of 5years tenor -
Access Bank Plc, Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank of Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.
The dollar denominated part of the funding consists of two separate facilities- a US$250m export credit facility from KfW IPEX-Bank of Germany, which benefits from comprehensive from the Swedish Export Credit Agency, EKN, cover on the back of Ericsson equipment purchases.  This is the first time MTN Nigeria has leveraged its purchases from Ericsson to secure export credit backed funding. 
It also includes a US$200m Buyer’s Credit facility from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to purchase equipment from Huawei. The first time any member of the MTN Group has secured funding from ICBC.
With the investment of well over N700 billion naira in fixed assets and facilities nationwide, MTN currently has the most expansive network coverage, spread across the 36 states of Nigeria and the capital, Abuja. The company provides network coverage to more than 83 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, while over 84 percent of the population has access to its services. The company’s digital microwave transmission backbone by last September had covered 10,500km, while the fibre optic cable network had covered almost 8,000km.
Farroukh said, “These facilities provide us with a strong financial basis to pursue our goal of extending service to more Nigerians who are yet to experience the telecom revolution, while also improving the quality of service on the network.”
 “The loans demonstrate immense confidence by these global financial players in the managerial competence of MTN and its commitment to its mission of providing peerless telecom services across Nigeria. The loans will go a long way in fast-tracking our network enhancement efforts.”
Farroukh added that, “It is our belief that provision of first class telecommunications services will help unlock the full potential of the Nigerian economy.”
According to him, “In the area of corporate social investment, MTN Nigeria has remained a trail-blazer, laying examples of responsible corporate citizenship for others to follow. It is the only company in Nigeria that sets aside a percentage of its annual profits for corporate social investment. The special vehicle for implementing the initiatives, the MTN Foundation has won local and international awards and has impacted millions of lives nationwide”.
He thanked MTN customers for their support, saying that without them, the company would not have made so much progress. He pledged that the company would continue to impact more lives through its services and corporate social investment initiatives.