ICBC provides $300 million loan to a Libyan state-owned investment company to facilitate the acquisition of telecommunications equipment in 6 African countries (Linked to Record ID#72987)

📋 Staff Comments

1. In 2010, the Government of Zambia sold Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited (Zamtel) — the country’s state-owned telecommunication service provider — to LAP GreenN for $394 million USD. Then, in 2011, LAP GreenN obtained a loan from ZTE Corporation — a Chinese state-owned enterprise — to support the expansion of the Zamtel network through a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) Phase IV Project and a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) Project. In 2012, a new administration came to power in Zambia and it reversed the sale of ZAMTEL to LAP GreenN, alleging that it significantly undervalued the value of Zamtel and that the transaction was illegal. LAP GreenN denied any wrongdoing in the manner it acquired the company and said it would challenge the Zambian authorities in U.K. court. Then, in 2014, the Government of Zambia agreed to repay the $103 million loan that LAP GreenN had obtained from ZTE in 2011 for the expansion of the Zamtel network. The repayment of the $103 million USD loan (captured via Project ID#72987) was considered to be the first step in providing compensation to LAP GreenN over its investment in Zamtel. In November 2017, the Government of Zambia confirmed its intention to pay LAP GreenN $382 million USD to compensate for the nationalization of Zamtel.

📚 Sources & References

• http://telecomafrica.blogspot.com/2009/11/libyas-lap-green-secures-u300-million.html
• Ugandan telecom firm to benefit from 300m-dollar Chinese fund, http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2010/03/rwandatel-to-rebrand-as-green/, http://www.spforum.net/xinwen/?201883.html
• Lap Green eyes more acquisitions, http://www.iccsz.com/site/cn/News/2009/11/28/20091128010648879375.htm
• Local Telecom Investor Secures Shs600 Billion Loan, http://global.factiva.com/aa/?ref=LBA0000020110614e76e0015w&pp=1&fcpil=en&napc=S&sa_from=, http://global.factiva.com/aa/?ref=BBCAP00020091116e5bg001ba&pp=1&fcpil=en&napc=S&sa_from=
• Building Bridges: China's Growing Role as Infrastructure Financier for Sub-Saharan Africa
• Uganda Telecom Investor Receives US$300 Million Financing
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• African Consortium Receives 300 Million USD Financing from China's ICBC to Purchase Huawei Equipment
• 乌干达电信投资方获得中国工商银行三亿美元融资(Uganda Telecom Investor Receives 300 Million USD Financing from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China)
• REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA Global Depositary Notes Representing Zambian Kwacha Denominated Bonds GDN Listing Memorandum
• Zambia pays loan for Libya's Lap Green, but Zamtel case continues
• Zambia's president moves to reassure nervous investors
• Nigerien Government Revokes Sale of Sonitel to LAP Green Networks Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.