Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP acted as international counsel to Pan Asia Majestic Eagle Limited (“PAMEL”), an independent provider of telecommunications infrastructure in Myanmar, in the first ever non-recourse, cross-border financing in Myanmar. The agreement provides US$85 million of financing to support a roll-out of telecom tower site infrastructure in Myanmar.

This first-of-its-kind facility was arranged by DBS Bank, ING Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (the “Lenders”), who provided the financing directly to PAMEL, a Myanmar borrower. ING Bank in Singapore is acting as the Facility Agent and Offshore Security Agent and CB Bank in Myanmar is acting as the Onshore Security Agent.

The transaction is significant as Myanmar, formerly isolated from the global markets, re-establishes and modernizes its banking and capital markets presence. It is also expected to spur similar infrastructure development across Myanmar’s telecommunications sector, which is poised for rapid expansion.

PAMEL, headquartered in Yangon, was established in 2013 to serve as an independent provider of passive telecommunications infrastructure to support the rapid modernization of Myanmar. The focus of PAMEL’s current roll-out is the construction of over 1,250 towers for Ooredoo Myanmar, as part of Ooredoo’s provision of 3G mobile communications services nationwide across the country.

A leader in telecommunications and other project financings, Milbank has advised telecom companies and financial institutions around the world, with a particular focus on the developing markets of Southeast Asia, India, and Latin America.

Milbank’s Singapore-based team, led by partner Giles Kennedy, acted as International Counsel to PAMEL and VDB-Loi’s Edwin Vanderbruggen acted as Local Myanmar Counsel to PAMEL.