TC May-Jun 2021 Issue

TRADE CHRONICLE
Jazz has secured a PKR 50 billion
syndicated credit facility from a banking
consortium led by HBL. This 10-year
facility will be used to finance the
company’s ongoing 4G network rollouts
and technology upgradation.
This is the first of its kind facility
extended to the telecom sector in
terms of the amount and tenor. The
facility is fully subscribed by HBL, the
consortium’s investment agent and
mandated lead arranger. Other banks
who are also acting as the mandated
lead arrangers and advisors on this
deal include: United Bank Limited,
National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Bank,
Bank Alfalah, Allied Bank Limited,
Askari Bank Limited, Bank of Punjab,
Meezan Bank Limited and Faysal Bank
Limited
As the country’s leading digital services
provider, Jazz has over 69 million
subscribers
and more
than 28
million 4G
users nationwide. Over a period of two
years, the company has invested USD
462 million on 4G infrastructure. The
Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited
(PACRA) has also recently upgraded
Jazz secures telecom sector’s largest credit
facility to support 4G network rollout
Jazz’s long-term rating to ‘AA’ with a
stable outlook, depicting the company’s
strong financial depth in the industry.
“We continue to drive the digital
Pakistan agenda by improving digital
infrastructure, bridging the digital divide
and focusing on financial inclusion.
We are enabling societies by investing
State Bank of Pakistan and JazzCash join hands
to increase financial literacy among youth
National Institute of Banking and
Finance (NIBAF) – a subsidiary of the
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and
JazzCash, Pakistan’s leading FinTech
Company, have signed a Memorandum
of Understanding for increasing
financial literacy amongst youth of
Pakistan. The two parties aim to jointly
promote financial literacy through the
engaging and interactive game called
“PomPak – Learn to Earn” developed
under SBP’s project, National Financial
Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y).
PomPak, utilizes a story-based
narrative by following the journey
of two families setting up a small
entrepreneurial venture. This helps to
keep the
players
engaged
w h i l e
effectively inculcating ethical behavior
and financial skills such as budgeting,
saving, and banking. PomPak is
available in both English and Urdu
for three age groups: children (9-12);
adolescents (13-17); and youth (18-
29). Anyone who completes the course
is awarded a certificate of financial
literacy jointly from NIBAF and NFLP-Y.
It can be played on a desktop computer
or can be downloaded from Google
Play and the App Store for other
devices.
JazzCash, under its partnership, is
going to provide SBP access to more
than 26 million Pakistanis by promoting
K-Electric and Easypaisa collaborate to offer
convenient digital bill payment options
K-Electric (KE), Karachi’s electricity
provider and Easypaisa, Pakistan’s
leading provider of digital financial
services have partnered together to
extend a convenient and hassle-free
bill payment solution for the power
utility’s customers.
The partnership with Easypaisa offers
5% cashback (up to PKR 100) to new
Easypaisa customers on their first
KE bill
payment.
Through
this partnership, KE is encouraging
customers to use digital modes of
payments from the comfort of their
homes.
Furthermore, Easypaisa’s extensive
agent network of 170,000 +
registered agents spread across the
country will also facilitate customers,
especially those residing in the
in entrepreneurship, digital skills and
literacy. This facility is an integral step
towards ensuring that people are not
bound by the limitations of geography,
gender, or socioeconomic background,
in harnessing the power of the internet.
A transaction of this size is a testament
to the trust the financial community has
on Jazz’s strong financial profile and
its leadership position in the telecom
industry,” said Gabor Kocsis, Chief
Financial Officer, Jazz.
Muhammad Aurangzeb, President
& CEO - HBL commenting on the
occasion stated, “We are delighted
to have led this landmark transaction
in the Telecom sector. HBL has a
long-standing relationship with Jazz
spanning more than two decades.
For the Bank, such transactions serve
HBL’s strategic priority of supporting
the promotion of digitalization across
the country, while underscoring HBL’s
commitment to stand by the robust
and progressive telecom sector of
Pakistan.”
the PomPak application on its platform.
This will help the application reach
a wider audience, thus increasing
its usage and eventually promoting
financial literacy of the nation resulting
in a highly positive socio-economic
impact.
To know more about PomPak, please
visit: www.nflpy.pk/PomPak
outskirts of the city where access to
conventional banking facilities is limited.
TRADE CHRONICLE - May - Jun - 2021 - Page # 35