The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based telecom group Etisalat has raised USD4.3 billion through the region’s largest corporate bond sale. Etisalat sold fixed-rate debt in four tranches with maturities ranging from five to twelve years, Reuters reports, to replace some of the debt used to fund its EUR4.2 billion (USD5.7 billion) purchase of a majority stake in Morocco’s Maroc Telecom from France’s Vivendi.
Separately, Etisalat has signed a carrier billing contract with mobile payments provider Bango under which the telco’s subsidiaries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia can introduce one-click payment for subscribers. Customers are now able to pay for Google Play purchases directly via their mobile phone bill, with no need to register personal details. An earlier deal between Etisalat and Bango had seen carrier billing introduced for the BlackBerry World app store.