ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Telecom Company Ufone has secured its largest syndicated financing facility jointly led by MCB Bank Limited (MCB) (Agent bank), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Bank of Punjab (BoP), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), and United Bank Limited (UBL) to fund the acquisition and rollout of its 4G services across Pakistan.
President and Group CEO, PTCL and Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf signed the agreement for the syndicated financing of Rs21 billion at a ceremony held here on Wednesday, which was also attended by President MCB Bank Imran Maqbool; Group Head, Corporate Finance and International Banking, MCB Bank Shoaib Mumtaz; President Allied Bank Aizid Razzaq Gill; Chief Corporate and Investment Banking, Allied Bank Owais Shahid; Head Investment Banking, Bank of Punjab Umer Khan, Abid Kitchlew Divisional Head C&IBG, National Bank, and Farooq Ahmed Khan Group Head Corporate and Investment Banking, United Bank Ltd.
Ufone telecom gets unused Pakistan's spectrum, govt earns $279mn
Ufone has recently been awarded 4G Spectrum License as a result of competitive bidding during the spectrum auction held by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The company’s investment in 4G spectrum will go onto enhancing its network capacity and readiness besides delivering superior connectivity and user experience to its customers.
Speaking at the ceremony, Hatem Bamatraf expressed his gratitude to the banking consortium for the timely financial support and said, “The Financing Solution will go a long way in bringing high quality mobile broadband services to the people of Pakistan. It will improve quality of network services and usher in a host of socio-economic opportunities for growth and development for our customers.”
He further added, “It is a mutual goal that both Pakistan’s banking and telecom industries are working to achieve in order to create shared value for the communities we serve.”
President MCB Bank, Imran Maqbool congratulated Ufone on acquisition of 4G spectrum and emphasised on the need of changing the dynamics of all industries post-Covid-19, including enhancing virtual connectivity and reliance on technological innovation for sustainable growth.
He expressed hopes that Ufone, with the new 4G capabilities, will further enhance its contributions to the socio-economic growth of the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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