The United Bank-Egypt intends to participate in the loan being arranged for Telecom Egypt (TE) to finance the purchase of a 4G licence, according to chairperson and managing director of the bank Ashraf Elkady. Engineer Tamer Gadalla, CEO of Telecom Egypt, announced on Wednesday that the company signed a loan agreement for EGP 5bn with a consortium led by the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to finance part of the 4G licence purchase agreement. Elkady, however, did not disclose the stake the bank intends to use to engage in this syndicated loan. According to Telecom Egypt, the value of obtaining the 4G licence is EGP 7.08bn. A sum of EGP 5.2bn will be paid in two halves: 50% in Egyptian pounds and 50% in US dollars. The remaining part of the total figure is payable in equal instalments over four years, starting one year after signing the contract. The licence will be valid for a period of 15 years. In the same context, Elkady said that the size of the syndicated loans portfolio at the bank currently amounts to EGP 500m. He told Daily News Egypt that the loans were arranged to fund projects in the sectors of electricity and petroleum. Most of these loans, he added, were in favour of public sector companies. The United Bank-Egypt aims to expand in granting funding to all economic fields and to all companies: large, medium-sized, small and micro, according to Elkady. He added that the bank seeks to grant loans to individuals for mortgage and personal loans as well as through credit cards and evaluation. Moreover, the bank aims to achieve a growth of 20% in retail banking. He stressed that the bank is ready to take part in financing major national projects, as well as the projects that fall under social responsibility with a direct impact on improving the lives of citizens. Furthermore, he pointed out that the United Bank-Egypt has a strategy to expand in granting funding for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), along with micro enterprises through its Intlaka programme. Intlaka, Elkady explained, aims to finance new clients who do not possess budget reports or accounting books. The size of funding ranges between EGP 50,000 to EGP 100,000. In addition, the bank will also offer funding of up to EGP 400,000 through a different programme. He pointed out that the bank does not only grant funding to these projects, but also offers technical assistance and financial consulting to their owners. Source: Daily News Egypt
