ECGD underwrites Motorola’s $50 million deal for mobile expansion in Pakistan |
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Mon, 15 Aug 2005 06:05
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Motorola has announced that it would be helping Pakistan Mobile Communications Ltd's (PMCL) network in the process of upgrading and expanding its base network. This deal is worth almost $50 million and has partly been underwritten by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), UK's official export credit agency.
Motorola's Swindon factory would be playing a key role in executing the contract under which infrastructure equipment would be provided to the Pakistan Mobile Communications Ltd, which in turn would use it to expand its coverage under the Mobilink banner. The ECGD has agreed to provide a $48 million bank loan, which will be financed by ABN AMRO and Citigroup. This money would be used by the PMCL towards covering its costs. Gerard Grady, senior manager at Motorola Credit Corporation, said, "This deal is part of an ongoing expansion programme between Motorola and Mobilink which will further boost mobile phone usage in Pakistan."
Commenting on the move, UK Trade Minister Ian Pearson said, "Telecoms is one of the fastest growing sectors in Pakistan. This deal, involving a UK exporter with crucial backing from ECGD, will help to sustain that growth." This move follows similar ones by the French and German Export Credit Agencies - Coface and Euler Hermes for Alcatel and Siemens. Both the deals were intended to help the PMCL by supplying additional equipment to expand their respective subscriber bases. These deals were worth close to €170 million.
Mobilink's Chief Executive Officer Zouhair Khaliq was very pleased with the support extended by the ECGD and said, "Mobilink's subscriber base has grown eight times in the last two years and, as we prepare to double network capacity again, we welcome the support of ECGD and other ECAs in this growth phase."
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