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Airtel Africa sells Towers in Malawi, Madagascar, Tanzania, recalls bonds over debts

Published

3 years ago

May 22, 2022

Airtel Africa Plc has been forced to sell off its telecommunication Towers in Malawi, Madagascar and Tanzania for a total of $284 million.

The company also recalled $505 million of its bonds as part of measures to pay off close to $3 billion debt on its balance sheet weighing down its continental operations.

By recalling a bond, a firm had to pay off the principal amount and the interest of a debt instrument before the due or maturity date and this occurs where the issuer, or the borrower, intends to clear the debt from its books and save on the regular interest payments.

The telecommunications company, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, with operations in 14 African countries which has been going through a turbulent business terrain in recent times, redeemed the bonds that were to mature in March 2023, thereby saving $26 million on interest payments from the early redemption.

“In line with our strategy to continue to reduce foreign currency debt at Holding Company, we also repaid $505 million bonds in March 2022, a year earlier than their March 2023 redemption date,” the company said in a statement on Friday as part of its financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2022.

“Our balance sheet has also been further de-risked by continued localisation of our debt into the operating companies (OpCos) and material debt reduction in Holding Company (HoldCo),” the statement added.

As part of its revenue generating drive, The Airtel Group completed the sale of more than 2,600 telecommunication towers in Tanzania, Madagascar and Malawi generating total proceeds of $284 million which were used to partly reduce its debt to $2.9 billion from $3.5 billion.

The Tower sale proceeds, according to the company were Tanzania ($177 million), Malawi ($55m) and Madagascar ($52m), gaining it a profit of $111 million but the loss of tower sharing revenue as a result of the sale of these towers amounted to $29 million per annum.

In March 2021, the Group announced a memorandum of understanding arrangements with Helios Towers for the potential sale of its tower assets in Chad and Gabon, while in February 2022, Airtel Africa announced it had agreed an extension to their memorandum of understanding with Helios Towers in Gabon, with completion still subject to Helios Towers obtaining a passive infrastructure licence.

Related Topics:Airtel Africa Debts Featured Telecoms Towers

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VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.