Russian telco MegaFon has signed a US$500m financing mandate agreement with China Development Bank (CDB) to fund the purchase of equipment and services from Chinese vendor Huawei.
CDB will act as the mandated leading arranger for the financing, the…
Russian telco MegaFon has signed a US$500m financing mandate agreement with China Development Bank (CDB) to fund the purchase of equipment and services from Chinese vendor Huawei.
CDB will act as the mandated leading arranger for the financing, the Moscow-based operator said in a statement.
The new Huawei equipment and services will be used to develop MegaFon’s mobile networks.
MegaFon CEO Ivan Tavrin described the financing as another milestone in the company’s long-term relationship with the Chinese bank.
“It underlines MegaFon’s high credit quality and the trust that our partners place in us as we continue to enjoy strong access to international capital markets as well as focus on enhancing our relationships with lenders and equipment suppliers globally.”
The telco’s CFO Gevork Vermishyan noted that CDB has provided the company with seven facilities since 2001 to fund purchases from the Chinese vendor.
MegaFon is Russia’s second-largest mobile operator after MTS. Smaller rivals include state-controlled Rostelecom and Tele2 Russia.
