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400 MILLION DOLLARS FOR GSM DEVELOPMENT
EuroTel Praha, the largest operator of NMT and GSM mobile telephone networks in the Czech
Republic, has received a revolving credit payable in five years in a total amount of 400
million USD. One-third of the credit will be used in Czech crowns, the remaining
two-thirds in USD and DM.
The credit was mediated for EuroTel by Chase Manhattan and Citibank, and 16 banking
institutions from the Czech Republic and abroad are taking part in it, for example,
Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Dai-Ichi Kongyo Bank, ING Bank and
ÈSOB.
According to Michal Heøman, Financial Director of EuroTel, this credit proves the trust
of banking and financial institutions in the future of the company and mobile phones in
the Czech Republic in general. "The growing numbers of customers and higher volumes
of operation create the potential for the most successful financial results in the coming
years as well," he said.
EuroTel will use the finances firstly for investments related to the further expansion and
quality improvements of the GSM network, for the development of the transmission
infrastructure, and for the purchase of state-of-the-art technologies. "Along with
the further development of coverage, we are constantly extending the capacity of the
network and improving the quality of the signal in the regions and locations already
covered," said Mr. Allman, Managing Director and CEO of EuroTel. "For example,
the number of base stations will increase significantly by the end of this year. And we
are focusing on both vast urban areas and smaller or more remote locations", he
added.
The EuroTel GSM Global signal currently covers more than 80% of the territory and 87% of
the population, and the EuroTel Classic signal covers an unrivalled 96% of the territory
and 98% of the population of the Czech Republic.
EuroTel Praha s.r.o. is a joint venture of SPT TELECOM, Inc. (51%) and Atlantic West B.V.
(49%). Atlantic West B.V. is a company equally owned by Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BELL) and US
WEST International, part of the US WEST Media Group (NYSE:UMG).
Prague, 23 October 1997
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