US government development finance institution the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has announced its first investment in Myanmar's burgeoning telecoms sector with a $250 million loan to Apollo Towers Myanmar.
Apollo has built around 1,800 towers to support Myanmar's mobile sector since its launch in 2014, and plans to build more than 2,000 additional towers in the next phase of its development.
Existing Apollo investors TPG Growth, Tillman Global Holdings and Myanmar Investments International facilitated the loan process and plan to continue to partner with Apollo on its expansion, OPIC said in a statement.
“Apollo has been able to capitalize on a buoyant demand for mobile and telecommunications services, working closely with global network operators such as Telenor and Ooredoo, as well as locally based Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications,” Apollo founder Sanjiv Ahuja said.
“This watershed OPIC financing, a unique collaboration between the private and public sectors, helps expand the critical infrastructure needed to bring telecommunications services to a larger portion of the Myanmar population.”
TPG Growth’s 2014 investment in Apollo was the first ever investment in Myanmar by a major Western private equity firm, following the government's efforts to liberalize the telecoms and other sectors.