Robi Axiata is set to get $95 million cash injection from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation or IFC to widen network and build new telecom infrastructure, reports bdnews24.com.
Shahed Alam, the chief corporate and regulatory officer of the carrier, said they hope the funds will be released this month.
Robi will need to repay the credit over a period of seven years. The officials of the company declined to reveal the interest rate.
The firm in 2015 had secured $99 million from the IFC .
Shahed said the previous loan issue has already been settled.
The company held its IPO lottery draw on Dec 10. It plans to widen network with the Tk 5.15 billion raised from the stock market.
Asked why it needs more funds, Shahed said, “A huge amount of money is required to create and develop a modern network.”
The operators will need to pump in huge amounts of money to expand and modernise networks, and purchase spectrum as the government plans to launch 5G services in 2021.
Robi had more than 50 million subscribers in October, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Its assets are worth Tk 171.97 billion, according to the company’s financial report for the year 2019.