Thu, Oct 25, 2018 – 5:50 AM

Singapore

SINGTEL will invest US$250 million in African telco Airtel Africa Ltd in a bid to tap the continent’s burgeoning use of mobile money and mobile wallets.

Airtel Africa will be valued at US$4.4 billion after the funding round, the proceeds of which will be used to pare its existing debt of around US$5 billion and to grow its business ahead of an intended initial public offering (IPO), Singtel said.

The investment forms part of US$1.25 billion in global funding which Airtel has secured from international investors; these include Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings, American private equity firm Warburg Pincus and Softbank Group International.

The African continent is projected to be the world’s second-fastest growing economic zone and the…