Mobile telecommunications company Celtel Zambia signed up its 1.5 millionth customer last week, according to David Venn, MD of Celtel Zambia.
The rapid growth of subscriber numbers, which have risen by over 23% since December 2006, is mainly due to the company's countrywide network expansion, he says.
Last month, 38 towers were installed around the country, giving fresh coverage to over 200 towns, explains Venn. A hundred towers are expected to be installed altogether at both provincial- and district-level within the next few months, he adds.
The mobile telecoms operator covers most of the 72 districts within nine provinces of Zambia, giving it an 80% market share. Rival operators MTN and Cell-Z have a remaining 10% each.
Celtel Zambia's mobile penetration rate stands at around 18% in a country with a population of 11.5 million people. "We hope to capture 30% to 35% of the market share in the next two years."
Syndicated loan
Celtel Zambia is funding the network roll out with a $105 million syndicated loan, Venn says.
The loan was established by Celtel Zambia to finance the capital expenditure requirements of its network and for the repayment of existing shareholder loans.
It was organised by Absa Capital and Citigroup NA, and was made available to Celtel Zambia in November.
Saviour Chibiya, MD of Citigroup Zambia, explains the loan will be released over five years in a two-tranche, local and foreign currency syndicated term loan facility with Celtel Zambia.
One tranche contains $86 million worth of Zambian Kwacha-equivalent, with the other offshore tranche containing $19 million.
Venn says Celtel Zambia independently raised the money through a syndicated loan and has not relied on its main shareholders Celtel International (88.88%) and International Finance Corporation (11.12%).
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