Loss-making telecom operator Zain Saudi has gained more time – until July 31 – to repay a $2.4bn Islamic loan due on Wednesday, the company said in a bourse statement.
Zain Saudi, 37-percent owned by Kuwait’s Zain, said the latest extension was to allow it to finalise a new long-term replacement agreement with lenders, which will be for five years and incur lower costs.
The murabaha facility – a sharia-compliant cost-plus-profit arrangement – was originally due in 2011, but has been put back multiple times.
Zain Saudi, which has yet to make a quarterly net profit since launching services in 2008, earlier this month received government approval to defer payment of licence-related fees that could total around $1.49bn over seven years.
The firm’s shares have gained 13.6 percent since it announced the government deal.
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