Air Link lands PKR 4.76B Islamic financing to build smartphones in Pakistan
What's the deal? Air Link CommunicationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Limited and its subsidiary Select Technologies Limited have secured a PKR 4.76 billion (roughly $17.1 million) 10-year Islamic syndicated term finance facility. The Bank of PunjabDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → managed the consortium, which included Askari BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Limited, BankIslami Pakistan LimitedDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Pak China Investment Company Limited. InfraZamin PakistanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Limited provided a PKR 3.57 billion credit guarantee that made the long tenor possible.
What's the endgame? The money will fund manufacturing facilities at the Sundar Green Special Economic Zone, where the companies plan to expand local production of smartphones, consumer electronics, and home appliances. The project is projected to make over one million affordable smartphones a year.
Who's who? Air Link distributes, retails, and manufactures mobile phones and electronics, partnering with brands including Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi. Select Technologies makes Xiaomi smartphones and LED TVs, plus Hisense air conditioners and TVs. The deal follows Select's initial public offering.
Why the guarantee matters? InfraZamin's credit enhancement enabled an extended tenor and better pricing than the companies could otherwise access. "This credit enhancement enabled an unprecedented extended financing tenor for the companies and optimized pricing," the parties said.
The extras: A planned 1MW solar plant is expected to cut carbon emissions by an estimated 700 tonnes a year. The project should create about 450 direct jobs within five years, with 25%–30% reserved for women.
"We are pleased to partner with Airlink and Select Technologies to support their expansion plans to enhance local manufacturing of digital and electronic equipment," said Maheen Rahman, chief executive officer of InfraZamin. "The facility will expand jobs, enhance digital inclusion and create potential for export."
The signal: InfraZamin, Pakistan's first dedicated credit-enhancement facility for infrastructure-related debt, has now unlocked over PKR 8.6 billion in private capital. The Air Link deal fits a pattern of using guarantees to stretch tenors and pull private money into digital and industrial infrastructure — with InfraZamin and the Bank of Punjab as recurring anchors. Its significance lies less in ticket size than in deepening Pakistan's long-tenor, local-currency debt market.
Read more: Business Plus
Image credit: Robert Scoble
