Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a syndicate of senior and mezzanine lenders on a US$122 million financing of mobile communications infrastructure across Myanmar. The financial package consists of a subordinated loan of US$13 million with a tenor of 9 years and a long term senior loan of US$109 million with a tenor of 8 years.

The telecoms infrastructure project is led by Irrawaddy Green Towers Ltd. (IGT). In this project, IGT will build a mobile telecommunication tower network consisting of at least 2,000 towers, providing coverage to approximately 14 million people in Myanmar.

The co-financiers of the project include Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), the Dutch development bank, as the lead arranger, as well as DEG – Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (Germany), Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique S.A. (France), CDC Group plc (Great Britain), Belgian Investment Company For Developing Countries SA/NV (Belgium) and Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (Austria).

The sponsors of this transaction also include a subsidiary of the M1 Group, the principal owners of a number of large telecom companies, including MTN. The facilities are secured by both onshore and offshore security on a limited recourse basis.

Yu-En Ong, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright commented:

“The transaction represents one of the first DFI led financings in Myanmar. The deal involved a complex financing package arranged by multiple stakeholders in several jurisdictions getting to grips with various risks associated with infrastructure roll out in Myanmar. We are very pleased to be involved in our second telecom tower financing on a limited recourse basis in Myanmar. The telecoms industry has been developing at a very fast pace and the speed and efficiency in closing this transaction is a reflection of the impetus required for telecoms infrastructure (for that matter all infrastructure) in Myanmar.”

The team in Singapore was led by partner Yu-En Ong, assisted by senior associates Janelene Chen and Lishi Fong, associates Michael Kim and Zhenning Kong and paralegal Sequoia Zhang. Singapore partner Stephen Begley assisted with inter-creditor arrangements. Partner Paul Vine in our Amsterdam office represented FMO as a mezzanine lender.