Engro enters Rs4.5bln Islamic loan deal

KARACHI: Engro Enfrashare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Engro Corporation, has entered an Islamic syndicate arrangement amounting to Rs4.5 billion, led by Meezan Bank and Faysal Bank, to finance the development of tower sites for various mobile network operators (MNOs) operating in Pakistan.

As per terms of the financing arrangement, the tenor of the financing would be seven years, including a grace period of two years. The syndicate includes Meezan Bank Limited, Faysal Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Islamic Bank and Allied Islamic Bank.

Last month, Engro had announced to enhance its total equity investment in the Telecom Infrastructure Vertical to Rs21.5 billion. The telecom infrastructure vertical was setup in 2019 to accelerate the development of connectivity infrastructure in Pakistan, thereby providing an opportunity for the people to be part of the new digital era.

Engro Enfrashare is engaged in the acquisition and construction of shared telecom towers, provision of various telecommunication infrastructure and related services, including state of the art network monitoring solutions.

Since its inception, the company has now established strong relationships with all MNOs active in Pakistan and is working closely with them to develop build-to-suit (B2S) sites across the country to serve their coverage and capacity requirements.

Engro Corporation President and CEO Ghias Khan said, “Engro is committed to expand its footprint in the telecom infrastructure vertical to power Pakistan’s progress in the digital era. With the support of banking partners like Meezan Bank, Engro Enfrashare will continue to work towards its purpose of making connectivity more accessible and affordable for everyone.”

Meezan Bank Founding President and CEO Irfan Siddiqui said that digitisation would be a major element driving business success in the era we are entering into.