Kuwaiti telecoms group Zain has secured a US$250m murabaha facility to finance its operational and expansion needs.
The Islamic loan was provided by a syndicate of financial institutions led by Boubyan Bank and with the participation of Kuwait…
Kuwaiti telecoms group Zain has secured a US$250m murabaha facility to finance its operational and expansion needs.
The Islamic loan was provided by a syndicate of financial institutions led by Boubyan Bank and with the participation of Kuwait International Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank.
Commenting on the funding, Zain CEO Scott Gegenheimer said: “The contract strengthens our relations with the Islamic banking community, taking advantage of the sector’s facilities. It also comes in the context of our fiscal policy in which we seek to diversify sources of funding.”
A few weeks ago, Zain had already closed a US$800m five-year revolving credit facility to fund general corporate purposes.
The company, Kuwait’s largest operator, has subsidiaries in several Middle Eastern countries and has been looking to bolster its presence in the North African market.
Gegenheimer recently said that Zain is considering increasing its 15.5% stake in Moroccan wireless player Inwi.
He told TelecomFinance earlier this year that demand for telecoms services – data, voice, but also adjacent services such as mobile payments – is set to explode in the region.
Zain sold most of its African operations to Indian giant Bharti Airtel in 2010 for US$10.7bn.
