Telecommunications giant Orascom Telecom (OT) announced it has secured a $200 million loan from a consortium of 12 banks led by Citibank and Chase Manhattan. The loan will be used to mainly finance mobile phone operations.
Orascom’s IPO in July was the largest ever in Egypt and raised $320 million. In parallel, OT announced that it has been awarded the right to operate a GSM license in Niger. The license cost the company $5.8 million and will be for 15 years, but must be renewed every five years.
OT currently has 19 licenses, 13 of which are operational, and is expected to launch another five before the end of this year. — (Lebanon Invest)
