Kuwait-based telco Zain Group has signed a three-year US$700m revolving credit facility to fund general corporate purposes.
Al Khalij Commercial Bank, Ahli United Bank, Arab Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Qatar National Bank and…
Kuwait-based telco Zain Group has signed a three-year US$700m revolving credit facility to fund general corporate purposes.
Al Khalij Commercial Bank, Ahli United Bank, Arab Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered acted as mandated lead arrangers, the company said.
Standard Chartered and QNB Group also acted as joint coordinators.
“Despite the challenging financial environment, the successful closing of this US$700m credit facility is a significant vote of confidence by the international financial community in Zain’s financial health and future business plans,” commented Scott Gegenheimer, CEO of Zain Group.
“The new facility stretches out the maturity profile of the company’s indebtedness and significantly lowers its average funding cost,” he added.
The company said that over the last few years it invested heavily in upgrading its mobile networks and rolling out new services in several of the countries where it is present.
While Zain operates in about eight countries, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, it has not made any recent foreign acquisitions. However, Zain chairman Asaad Ahmed al-Banwan recently said that the company is considering expanding into the Libyan market.
