LONDON, Oct 2: Abdu Dhabi Group led by UAE Education Minister Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan signed $47.5 Million agreement with consortium of 18 Pakistani Banks here on Saturday to provide quality communication services in Pakistan, which indicated a growing confidence of investors in the country.
The agreement was signed by UAE Education Minister and representatives of the Consortium at a simple ceremony here on Saturday, which among others, was attended by Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Dr Maleeha Lodhi, visiting State Minister and Chairman Pakistan Human Development Commission Dr Naseem Ashraf, Bashir Tahir Members of Board of Directors for Bank Alfalah, Pervaz Shahid, Hamid Farooq Chief Operating Officer Warid Telecom, Bilal Sheikh President PICIC Commercial Bank, Khalid Sherwani Managing Director Pak-Libya Holding Company and Syed Iqbal Ashraf, Executive Vice President of Habbib Bank Limited .
Habib Bank worked as a "Leader Arranger" on behalf of Warid Telecom, also known as Abu Dhabi Group, while the consortium of Pakistani Banks had contributed $200 million to finance the largest private sector transaction in the Telecommunication Sector. It was for the first time that no foreign Bank was involved in financing this project by a consortium of Pakistani Banks.
Warid Telecom was recently awarded a license worth $291 million to operate mobile services in Pakistan. This group also holds licences to operate Long Distance and International and Wireless Local Loop business.
Commenting on the agreement Sheik Mabarak Al Nahayan told APP "the return of the investment is unparallel, the Stock Market Index is one of the highest in the world so all signs of healthy, prosperous, stable economy are there and I could assure you would see more and more investors coming to Pakistan to invest because it benefit every body."
The UAE Minister said "we have seen a clear increase in the confidence of the foreign investors in Pakistan" and this had been because of the "very wise and able leadership" of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf .
He said the foreign investors had shown interest in the economy of Pakistan and "this has obviously come because people see that there is justice that there is equal opportunity" and there was a level-playing field for every body.
Pakistan High Commissioner Dr. Maleeha said the agreement "demonstrates the mutual confidence between the UAE and Pakistan. We welcome the faith and trust repose in us. The signing also reflects continuing investor confidence in Pakistan.
Executive Vice President of Habib Bank Syed Iqbal Ashraf speaking on the occasion said HBL had fully supported Warid Telecom and "have shown our total commitment to the project."
He said National Bank of Pakistan and Allied Bank Limited each had contributed Rs1.2 billion for debt financing to the said project while Askari Commercial Bank Limited had given Rs940 Million and PICIC Commercial Bank Rs750 million.
Ashraf expressed his thanks to PKIC, MCB, Faysal Bank and Pak-Libya Holding Company for agreeing to commit an amount of over Rs400 million to this project.--APP