Broke?? Etisalat In Talks With Banks Over $1BN Loan (Read)
Global Systems Mobile Communication (GSM) service provider
Etisalat is locked in discussions with its creditors who are battling to
recover a $1billion loan.
In the talks are three banks – Zenith Bank, Access Bank and Guaranty
Trust Bank—which advanced the telco the loan about two years ago.
A large portion of the loan, which was meant to expand the telco’s
network, is unpaid. The banks are threatening to invoke a segment of the
loan agreement, which allows the creditors to assume the management of
the company.
The Nation had reported exclusively on Tuesday that creditors were contemplating assuming ownership of the GSM operator.
Following the report and the unfolding events, a segment of the media
reported, albeit falsely, that the telco had been taken over by the
banks. However, Etisalat, the sector’s regulator, the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Telecoms
Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the umbrella body of all the practitioners
in the information communications technology (ICT) industry, said there
was no truth in the news that Etisalat had been acquired by the banks.
A source at Access Bank told The Nation that there was nothing to
suggest that the bank had taken any steps to acquire Etisalat. There
were no comments from Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB). An
expected feedback from GTB to an email request on the issue had not come
as at the time of filing this report.
However, NCC said it had requested Etisalat to furnish it with
details of the issues, assuring that there was no cause for alarm. Its
Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said the regulator will advice
based on the facts made available to it by Etisalat.
He said the insinuation that the Commission had given its blessing for the alleged takeover of Etisalat was far from the truth.
Ojobo said: “We have requested Etisalat to write a formal letter to
the Commission detailing what transpired. It is based on this that the
Commission will take whatever decision that would be deemed necessary.
But let me assure you that there is no cause for alarm. All the issues
will be resolved amicably for the good of the telecoms industry and the
country.”
ATCON urged the Federal Government to save the telecoms industry from collapse by easing access to foreign exchange to carriers.
ATCON’s President Olushola Teniola said the report that Etisalat had
been taken over by lenders was incorrect. He said the telco failed to
meet its repayment obligation because of the current economic downturn.
Said Teniola: “The situation is that Etisalat owes some interest rate
payments which have not been met, so, that means that they have
basically not met their obligations. They are currently negotiating with
the said banks to come to a conclusive resolution.
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