Robi to borrow $99m from IFC for expansion

Robi plans to borrow $99 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to expand its 3G network in rural areas.

Robi's parent company Axiata will be the guarantor for the loan that will come with an interest rate of around 2 percent, a senior official of the mobile operator said.

Market leader Grameen-phone had also borrowed from the IFC -- $345 million in 2013.

Supun Weerasinghe, managing director of Robi, and M Rehan Rashid, IFC's senior country officer, are scheduled to sign a loan agreement in Dhaka today.

"The mobile telecom industry is very capital-intensive; we constantly need to invest in upgrading our technology to ensure quality services," Ekram Kabir, vice president for communications and corporate responsibility at Robi, told The Daily Star.

"Such a development indicates Robi's rising stature as a corporate entity. We believe that IFC's confidence in Robi is also an endorsement of the international community in the future of Bangladesh."

Robi will gain much from the investment as equipment prices are falling in the global market, industry insiders said.

The investment would make Robi stronger in network capacity and give it the competitive edge, its officials said.

Between January 2014 and September 2015, Robi invested $500 million, surpassing other players in the telecom sector of Bangladesh, Weerasinghe said at a press meet recently.

Robi currently has about 2.83 crore active connections with a 21.43 percent market share, according to the telecom regulator.