Telecom Egypt bags $200m financing facility to buy undersea Internet cable

23rd May 2018 By: African News Agency

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said on Wednesday that it will commit up to $200-million to Telecom Egypt (TE) in a bid to enable the telecommunication company finance working capital and investments in its infrastructure.

The agreement for the short-term dual tranche facility would provide for TE to utilize the facility for the acquisition of a cross-border marine cable, which will enhance the volume of internet flow into Egypt and other African countries, and to finance working capital needs of the company.

The facility is expected to contribute in significantly expanding internet access across a number of African countries that will benefit directly from the undersea cable, which supports Egypt's plan to become a regional hub for internet and telecommunication services for other African countries.

The transaction would strengthen transmission services by local and international operators through Telecom Egypt’s partial and full ownership in the consortiums of undersea cables which carry telephone, internet, multimedia and broadband data applications between Africa and other regions, he added.

Ahmed El Beheiry, managing director and chief executive of Telecom Egypt, said the facility was "an integral step in providing the necessary liquidity to finance our working capital requirements and the necessary funding for investment at the lowest possible cost".