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Saudi Arabia's state-controlled Saudi Telecom Co obtained a $450 million loan from the country's Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corp to help finance its purchase of a stake in a Malaysian mobile-phone firm.
Saudi Telecom had in June agreed to buy 25 per cent of Malaysia's biggest mobile operator Maxis Communications and 51 per cent of its Indonesian unit for $3 billion, from Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd, Maxis' biggest shareholder.
Saudi Telecom will use the 10-year ringgit-denominated term loan to subscribe to half of a $900-million Islamic bond issued by Binariang, Al Rajhi said in a statement in the Malaysian capital on Tuesday.
Maxis has said it will use the proceeds from the stake sale to help fund its expansion in Indonesia and India.
Al Rajhi, the largest Gulf Arab bank by market value, said in the statement that the deal was its biggest in southeast Asia to date. (Reuters)
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