Out of the amount, GH¢345 million will be used to finance its capital expenditure, while the remaining GH¢165 million will be used to support its working capital needs.

The loan facility was arranged by Ecobank Ghana and Ecobank Capital, with Barclays Bank as the main agent.

The interest on the loan will be a 182-day treasury bill rate plus five per cent at the end of every six months.

In 2012, MTN Ghana carried out a similar loan syndication deal to finance its network expansion, but that was repaid in May this year, giving it the opportunity to enter the current arrangement.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of MTN, Mr Modupe Kadri, signed on behalf of the company, while representatives of the nine banks appended their signatures to the deal.

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Signing ceremony

At a short ceremony to close the deal, Mr Kadri said MTN was expanding its operations to serve customers better.

Therefore, there was the need to inject huge capital investments into its operations to meet the growing demands of the market.

“The result of this deal is a continuous investment to further boost our capital expenditure and enable significant investments into key strategic areas to ensure a robust network in the delivery of a bold new digital world,” he stated.

Mr Kadri stated that the deal had already been approved by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), emphasising that he was particularly excited about the huge involvement of the local banks.

“This huge interest in MTN’s business is a clear demonstration of how successful our business has been in Ghana and the excellent financial health the company enjoys,” he added.

Mr Kadri reiterated that the deal would go a long way to create employment for the youth as the company expanded its operations.

Local bank support

In his address, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Dan Sackey, stated that the agreement between the nine financial institutions and MTN was a confirmation of the local bank’s willingness to support the growth of businesses in the country.

It also emphasises the strong collaboration between the banks and the telecommunications sector, driving the digital agenda of the country.

“Financial inclusion, which involves making financial services available to everyone, is the way to go in the pursuit of accelerated economic growth, and digitisation is one of the effective and efficient ways by which this can be achieved,” he added.