OREANDA-NEWS. October 03, 2011. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) that nationally operates its telecom services under the MTS brand with over 13 million wireless customers, announced raising a loan of rupee equivalent of USD 200 Mln., reported the press-centre of Sistema.

As part of the process, USD 100 Mln was raised from ICICI Bank and remaining USD 100 Mln was raised from Barclays Bank. This loan has been proportionally secured by Russia’s leading bank, Gazprombank through a standby letter of credit and bank guarantee.

According to Sergey Savchenko, Chief Financial Officer of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd. “Given the testing times being faced for financing of the telecom industry in India, raising of USD 200 Mln loan by SSTL is a significant achievement. The money raised is a reaffirmation of the confidence reposed by leading banks in our business strategy. We plan to utilize the raised money to further scale up our telecom operations in the country.” Adding further, Sergey said “We are thankful to our banking partners i.e. ICICI, Barclay’s and Gazprombank for their trust in us.”

The entire amount of USD 200 Mln has now been received by SSTL in a single tranche. The 3 year loan is payable in 2014.