By 
By Chinedu James
MTN Nigeria has secured a medium-term loan facility of about N200 billion with 12 Nigerian banks. The loan, signed in Lagos recently with FBN Quest acting as the facility agent, will allow the telecom giant to grow and expand its infrastructural capacity and network across the country.
The loan facility dominated in Naira is structured with a two-year moratorium and a repayment plan of five years.
The banks are United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited. Others are FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Nigeria Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Diamond Bank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, MTN, Ferdi Moolman, the deal will fund MTN’s capital expenditure (CAPEX), working capital and evolving business opportunities and its expansion plan to the underserved and unserved parts of the country.
“The signing of this loan facility is a major landmark in our expansion programme in which we are making significant investments. The facility will enable us to evolve the network to deliver convergent and superior quality, drive voice capacity expansion and data service penetration, maintain optimal capital structure and funding level that support growth and expansion.
“Making it possible for people to connect to each other and the world, find and share information and ideas, create and access new digital services and reimagine old services. This partnership puts in place infrastructure that empowers commerce, industry and the provision of public services,” said Moolman.
Moolman reaffirmed MTN’s commitment to grow the telecom industry and the Nigerian economy.
MTN hopes to become more data centric to reflect the dynamics of Nigeria’s telecom industry with the increasing adoption of Over The Top (OTT) services such as FB Messenger, Whatsapp, Skype and Viber.
