Turkcell secures $1bn Murabaha facility to fund 5G and digital infrastructure

Turkey’s Turkcell has secured a $1 billion Shariah-compliant syndicated Murabaha financing facility to support its 5G rollout and digital infrastructure investments, the company said.

The facility was initially launched at $500 million but was increased to $1 billion after attracting strong demand from international lenders, with subscriptions exceeding the original target by around 2.4 times.

The seven-year facility carries a profit rate of secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) plus 1.95%, with a total cost of SOFR plus 2.14% including fees, and includes a two-year grace period on principal repayments.

HSBC acted as the sole coordinator and bookrunner for the transaction. Mandated lead arrangers included Kuwait Finance House, BNP Paribas, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Gulf Bank, ICBC and QNB.

Turkcell said the proceeds will be used to fund investments in 5G technology, connectivity infrastructure and digital services as Turkey prepares to launch 5G services.

Separately, Turkcell has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mavenir to introduce AI-enabled voice and messaging services on its network. The collaboration will use cloud-based infrastructure to integrate artificial intelligence capabilities into core telecom services.