Warid Telecom, part of the Abu Dhabi Group, has sealed a $500 million financing agreement with Standard Chartered Bank and ABN Amro Bank, backed by Sweden’s Export Credit Agency. The loan will finance Warid Telecom’s GSM network expansion in Pakistan and is the largest cross-border capital expenditure related to telecom debt financing in Pakistan. Ericsson is supplying the GSM network equipment for the expansion. The financing will also facilitate Warid’s rollout into more cities in Pakistan. It is the single largest EKN-backed telecom financing in Pakistan, the Middle East and Asia.
