The International Finance Corporation (IFC) - an arm of the World Bank - has mobilized a loan worth US$320
million to finance expansion and upgrading of mobile phone network operations for five African countries
including Malawi.

IFC and Celtel International said in a joint statement released on Wednesday from Cape Town in South Africa
that the loan - IFC's largest financing package for sub Saharan Africa yet - will go towards improving
network services for Celtel operations in Malawi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar
and Sierra Leone.

Celtel Malawi Limited will get US$15 million from IFC, US$9.5 million from bilateral lenders and US$5.5
million in parallel loans bringing the total to US$30 million.

Under the loan terms, IFC will provide a US$160 million package while eight other bilateral financiers and commercial banks will match the other half.

The statement said the transaction marks the first mobilization of IFC syndicated loans in Madagascar,
Malawi and Sierra Leone to help bring long-term commercial financing to markets at the frontier of private sector development.

The funds will be used to modernize and develop the mobile networks in countries with obsolete and inadequate fixed line networks and very low telephone penetration rates, ranging from just over four phones for every 100 people in Malawi and Madagascar to about 10 per 100 people in Sierra Leone.

"Investment infrastructure such as telecommunications is crucial for Africa's economic development and
our long term collaboration with IFC shows that the private sector can play an important role in fulfilling that need," said MO Ibrahim, Celtel International BV's chairman in the statement.

Since the MTC's acquisition of Celtel in 2005, the Kuwait-based telecoms group has invested US$10 billion
in African mobile telecom services.