BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/12/2005

Belarus' BeST to take $184 mln loan from China Eximbank

MINSK, Dec 7 (Prime-Tass) -- Belarus' state-controlled GSM mobile operator Belarus Telecommunications Network, or BeST, has signed an agreement to take out a U.S. $184.2 million loan from Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank). The agreement was signed during Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's visit to China.

The loan is to be guaranteed by the Belarusian government. No other details on the loan conditions were provided.

BeST plans to spend the loan on paying for telecommunications equipment it purchased to launch its network. In October, BeST signed an agreement with China's Alcatel Shanghai Bell to purchase the Chinese company's telecommunications equipment for $234 million.

The other $50 million was provided to the company by the Chinese government, BeST said earlier.

BeST was registered on November 5, 2004 and received a license to provide communication services in Belarus on March 24, 2005.

BeST was set up by Belarus' state-controlled fixed-line monopoly Beltelecom, which controls 25% in the company, and state-owned company Agat, which controls 75%.

BeST said earlier that it plans to start commercial operation by the end of this year and to attract 500,000-600,000 subscribers by the end of 2006. However BeST has still not yet started operations.

The total number of subscribers in Belarus amounted to 3.6 million as of October 1. Belarus' population amounts to slightly less than 10 million people.

Source:

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15149.php

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