Russia’s largest wireless carrier MTS has secured a US$200m equivalent term loan from China Development Bank in Chinese yuan and US dollars.The funds will be used to acquire network equipment and related services from Chinese manufacturer Huawei…
Russia’s largest wireless carrier MTS has secured a US$200m equivalent term loan from China Development Bank in Chinese yuan and US dollars.
The funds will be used to acquire network equipment and related services from Chinese manufacturer Huawei Technologies.
The seven-year term loan facility comprises a US$100m tranche and a yuan-denominated tranche equivalent to US$100m, which has been fixed at Yn620m.
“We are pleased with our first experience in working with CDB and look forward to further long-term cooperation. MTS will use this loan to finance construction of next-generation networks in Russia using equipment from our long-standing partner, Huawei,” MTS president and CEO Andrei Dubovskov said.
The agreement was signed by Dubovskov and China Development Bank chairman, Hu Huaibang, during the official visit of Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to Moscow.
Last month, MTS CFO Alexey Kornya was reported as saying that the company, which is controlled by billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov, expects to borrow about US$500m by the end of the year to fuel expansion.
According to the senior exec, the operator can still access foreign credit markets and borrow in roubles or dollars, as it is not directly impacted by restrictions on Russia linked to the conflict in Ukraine.
MTS reported net debt of Rbs185.5bn (US$3.44bn) at the end of 2014.
Consolidated group revenues stood at Rbs410.8bn (US$7.62bn), up 3.1% year-on-year. Of this, Russia contributed Rbs374.9bn (US$7bn). The company said it expects group revenues to rise by 2% in 2015. Its forecast for group CAPEX spending for the year is Rbs85bn (US$1.58bn).
