British International Investment

Irrawaddy Green Tower Project

Rest of the WorldCommunications and IT servicesManufacturing

Yangon-based Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT) is the largest independent telecomms tower company in Myanmar. IGT builds towers and infrastructure for all the country’s major operators, including Telenor, Ooredoo and MPT.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

In 2015, CDC made its first investment in IGT, alongside several European DFIs: the Netherlands’ FMO, Germany’s DEG, France’s Proparco, Belgium’s BIO and Austria’s OeEB.

Following a second investment round in 2016, CDC now has a total investment of $50 million in IGT, making us the largest lender.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

Emerging from decades of isolation, Myanmar’s communications sector has radically evolved in recent years. It is now the world’s third fastest growing mobile phone market behind India and China.

Our investment will support the work of companies such as IGT, which has helped to increase mobile phone coverage in Myanmar from 10 per cent to 85 per cent in the past five years.

IGT has become the backbone of Myanmar’s telecommunications network, with 2,900 towers built and plans to build 5,000 towers in total. With this infrastructure, around 14 million people, mainly in under-served rural areas, now have mobile phone coverage and better access to communications.

Our investment will also help attract other investors to the country.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    June 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D27
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Exited
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    Rest of the World
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    Myanmar
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Communications & IT services

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Debt
    Start date :
    August 2016
    End date :
    July 2023
    Amount :
    $29.67m
    Currency of investment :
    USD
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Singapore

Related investments made by BII into this company:

Investment name Commitment Region Sector Start date Status
Investment 01 $20.33m Rest of the World Communications and IT December 2015 Active
Investment 01 $20.33m Rest of the WorldRest of the World Communications & IT services December 2015 Exited
Investment 02 $29.67m Rest of the WorldRest of the WorldRest of the World Communications and IT January 2016 Active

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