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Overview

CDB participates in $362 million syndicated loan to Econet Wireless Group for refinancing and equipment purchase purposes

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$56,048,864
Commitment Year•2012Country of Activity•Africa, regionalDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•MauritiusSector•CommunicationsFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
May 23, 2012
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
May 22, 2017

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Funding agencies

State-owned Policy Banks

  • China Development Bank (CDB)

Cofinancing agencies

Government Agencies

  • Exportkreditnämnden (EKN)
  • PROPARCO

Intergovernmental Organizations

  • African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)

State-owned Banks

  • German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG)
  • Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd
  • Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Econet Wireless Global Limited
  • Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited

Implementing agencies

Private Sector

  • Ericsson

State-owned companies

  • ZTE Corporation (formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation)

Loan description

CDB participates in USD $362 million syndicated loan to Econet Wireless Group for refinancing and equipment purchase purposes in 2012

Grant element•7.7485%Interest rate (t₀)•6.0364%Interest type•Variable Interest RateLoan tenor•6-month rateMaturity•5 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On May 23, 2012, Econet Wireless Global Limited — a telecommunications company — signed a $362,000,000 syndicated loan (facility) agreement with AfriEximbank, Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), Societe De Promotion Et De Participation Pour La Cooperation Economique (PROPARCO), China Development Bank Corporation (CDB), Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), and Exportkreditnämnden (EKN). The loan carried a 5-year maturity and a blended interest rate of LIBOR plus a 5.3% margin. The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to refinance its existing debts and purchase equipment. $307 million was earmarked for use by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ) ($255 million to re-finance existing short-term facilities and $52 million to finance equipment purchases and thereby upgrade Econet's telecommunications network infrastructure in Zimbabwe). The remainder was earmarked for upgrade the telecommunications network infrastructure of Econet’s operating subsidiaries in Burundi, through the importation and commissioning of GSM network equipment from ZTE Corporation and Ericsson.

Staff comments

1. EWZ is the Zimbabwean subsidiary of Econet Wireless Group. 2. The individual contribution of China Development Bank to the $362 million syndicated loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions ($51,714,285) across the seven known members of the syndicate. This issue warrants further investigation. 3. AidData has estimated the all-in interest rate by adding 5.3% to average 6-month LIBOR in May 2012 (0.73299%).