IslamicFinance.de

Malaysian telecoms giant Axiata Group on November 13 issued a US$500 million Wakala Sukuk, or Islamic bond, to fund its investment into a Myanmar towers business. This is the largest-ever corporate bond issued with proceeds to be invested into a Myanmar towers business, demonstrating considerable investor confidence in the frontier market. Telecoms towers companies have led the way in terms of innovative cross-border financing into Myanmar – last year Pan Asia Majestic Eagle completed the first cross-border, non-recourse financing arrangement in the country.
A spokesperson for Axiata told The Myanmar Times yesterday that around $125 million of the bond’s proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition of a majority share in Myanmar Tower Company (MTC) under Axiata’s wholly owned subsidiary Edotco Group.
The remaining funds will be used for “general corporate purposes,” she said, though did not disclose whether or not this would include capex for MTC’s Myanmar rollout. In the bond’s prospectus the use of proceeds is listed as “general corporate purpose/other”.
Last month, Edotco entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with Digicel Group to buy its 75pc stake in MTC for $221 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis – to be settled in cash for around $125 million.
Axiata has raised the necessary funds at a competitive rate – its $500 million, five-year bond was launched with initial price guidance of 1.95pc over US treasuries. Bookrunners Deutsche Bank and CIMB were able to tighten pricing to 1.75pc, with a final yield of 3.466pc, according to a company statement.