TE says it is still seeking an EGP 13 bn facility. Telecom Egypt (TE) denied reports that a syndicate of banks including the National Bank of Egypt, CIB, QNB Al Ahli Bank, Banque Misr, and Credit Agricole have pulled the plug on an EGP 13 bn facility it signed last July with NBE, Reuters’ Arabic service reports. “Procedures for the loan are going well and in normal course,” TE said in response to the newswire’s report earlier in the day.

What’s the background? Sources in the banking industry had told Reuters that the loan had been effectively “suspended” after the Central Bank of Egypt asked the lending banks to “re-do the credit assessment in light of the company’s new budget and performance outlook after it received the license to operate 4G services.” The CBE also raised flags about TE’s cash flows, the story suggests. TE signed the loan agreement with the National Bank of Egypt back in July in bid to upgrade its infrastructure and mobile internet services since launching its own mobile network.