Zain Ghana is owned 75% by Zain Group and 25% by Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, a government owned company. For the year 2008, Zain Group recorded consolidated revenues of $7.44 billion equivalent, an increase of 50% compared to 2007. Its consolidated EBITDA increased by 15% relative to the year 2007, amounting to $2.8 billion equivalent. Zain Group’s consolidated net profits reached $1.2 billion equivalent, an increase of 6% on the 2007 profit. The Sponsor successfully completed a rights issue of $4.5 billion equivalent in September 2008 to strengthen its balance sheet and support its expansion strategy. It is listed on Kuwait Stock Exchange.

The total project cost is estimated at $523 million equivalent. The proposed IFC investment is for up to $90 million. In addition, IFC is looking to mobilize up to $70 million in the form of an IFC B loan/parallel loans.

90.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	90.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Zain Ghana is headquartered in Accra, Ghana and looking to provide telecommunication services throughout the country.

Through an investment in Zain Ghana, IFC will help spur competition in Ghana, thereby increasing penetration levels and helping to extend telecommunications services into the rural areas. Further, as Zain Ghana is setting up a modern, reliable telephony network, it is providing affordable services of highest quality. Further, its 3G connectivity allows Zain Ghana to offer not only voice, but also internet and other value-added services, thereby strengthening internet accessibility which is lagging far behind mobile penetration rates in Ghana. Small and medium sized companies are a key focus segment of the Company, which are expected to benefit from the wide range of services, including the access of Zain Group's "One Network", allowing for cross-border calls without international and roaming charges between Zain Group's networks across Africa and the Middle East. Finally, Zain Ghana will provide direct and indirect sources of employment, which is critical in a country suffering from high unemployment rates.

IFC would mobilize long-term funding in an IDA country for which private financing from local and international commercial banks is scarce. Given tighter credit market conditions and the competitive landscape of the telecommunications market in Ghana, no other proposals for arranging long-term financing for Zain Ghana were submitted. Finally, the proposed IFC investment in Zain Ghana is part of a wider range of investment and advisory services activities that IFC is pursuing with Zain and strengthens the long-term partnership with a regional player that is heavily investing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The key issues associated with the project are environmental, health, safety, and social management; construction of towers; labor and working conditions (including employee and contractor occupational health and safety); pollution prevention and abatement; biodiversity conservation; indigenous peoples; and cultural heritage. This has been classified as a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects. As a condition of IFC’s investment, Zain Ghana will commit to an action plan for improving its environmental and social management system to ensure that all relevant social and environmental risks, impacts and opportunities are considered and managed as appropriate. Specific information about how risks, impacts and opportunities will be addressed by Zain Ghana is summarized in the Environmental and Social Review Summary for the project.