The management of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, on Friday, informed investors through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that it has signed a seven-year N200bn Medium Term Facility denominated in Naira with a consortium of seven Nigerian banks.
Members of the syndicate that structured the facility with a two-year moratorium are Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa and First Bank.
The statement by MTN Nigeria, through its company secretary, Uto Ukpanah, said the facility, will enable her “fund its evolving business opportunities while assisting with capital expenditure and working capital to deliver enhance customer service.”
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony witnessed by key partners and other stakeholders, chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, assured that the deal signifies the company’s commitment to and confidence in Nigeria, as well as the strength of its strategic collaboration between her and local financial institutions.
This, he believes, will help deepen and broaden the provision of ICT services in Nigeria.
The facility, the 18th in the 20-year history of MTN Nigeria, Moolman continued, “expands our existing successful domestic debt programme which we are using to fund increased network capacity, and the expansion of both the voice and data services on our network to customers in new areas, and with new next-generation services.
He expressed appreciation of the remarkable funding support enjoyed so far from Nigeria’s financial institutions since its debut facility in 2013, which have been critical to the development of one of the largest telecoms network in Africa, with 60m subscribers.
Moolman lauded the participating financial institutions for the commitment to MTN, adding that the loan syndication showcases the strength of the Nigerian financial institutions and their confidence in MTN’s vision and the joint ability of the parties to stimulate significant economic growth.