06 Jan, 2008

Shoman: Arab Bank is continuing with supporting infrastructure projects

Arab Bank Group has recently signed an $845 million loan agreement, as part of a consortium of international and regional banks, for the benefit of Etisalat Misr.

The Arab Bank's role in the deal comes at the highest level as Mandated Lead Arranger.

The funds will be used to finance Etisalat Misr's expansion plans and future schemes designed to meet the increasing demand on the network's services, encouraged by the fact that the number of subscribers to the network has already exceeded three million in less than seven months since the company started operation.

Arab Bank's Chairman/CEO Abdel Hamid Shoman stressed that in light of the considerable growth witnessed by the telecom sector, the bank will continue to finance Arab infrastructure projects, noting that the telecom industry is the engine of the services sector, which, in turn, is a key component in the economy of many Arab countries.

Accordingly, it is necessary to develop the telecom sector in line with the highest and latest international standards and remove all impediments to its progress.

Arab Bank has previously played a major role in loans offered by bank consortiums to major Arab telecom companies including Zain-Jordan (formerly FastLink), to finance its various projects. It also took part in a loan to Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) to fund the purchase of the second cell phone license and technical equipment. In addition, Arab Bank participated in a consortium that extended a loan to Oman's Nawras Telecom to finance its second cell phone license in the Sultanate.

Etisalt Misr embarked on offering a package of innovative individual and corporate services in May 2007, starting with installing and operating a 2G and 3.5 G networks.

The company is one of 14 telecom companies outside the UAE run by the Emirates Etislat, the major stakeholder in Etislat Misr, with a 66 per cent share. Other shareholders include Egypt's Post Corporation and Egyptian National Bank.

UAE's Etisalat was established in 1976. It functions currently in markets with 400 million potential subscribers in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It offers services to more than 32 million subscribers, employing state-of-the-art technology in fixed and mobile telephony and the Internet, in addition to other direct and indirect telecommunication services.