Project description

On March 27, 2015, MIGA issued guarantees totaling $30.2 million covering non-shareholder loans to HT DRC Infraco SPRL (HTD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd.,^[1] Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) of Germany, and Société Belge d’Investissement pour les Pays en Développement (BIO)^[2] The coverage is for a period of up to four years (Standard Bank) and six years (DEG and BIO) against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

This is an expansion of MIGA’s earlier support for the project, which involves the construction of mobile towers in the DRC. HTD is in the process of acquiring up to an additional 971 towers from Bharti Airtel for the purpose of expanding HTD’s tower network in the DRC. The cost of the acquisition will be covered in part by an additional loan facility that would complement the commercial bank and development finance institution loan facility guaranteed by MIGA in December 2013. MIGA’s additional coverage will cover the additional loan facility.

^[1] The guarantee Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd was cancelled on March 09, 2017.

^[2] The guarantees  Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) of Germany, and Société Belge d’Investissement pour les Pays en Développement (BIO) were cancelled on September 15, 2015.