OREANDA-NEWS. Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” or the “Company” – NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has signed a USD 200 mln equivalent term loan facility agreement with China Development Bank Corporation (“CDB”) in renminbi and US dollars. Funds drawn under the facility agreement will be used for procurement of network equipment and related services from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd (“Huawei”), a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider.83512The agreement was signed by MTS CEO Andrei Dubovskov and Chairman of China Development Bank, Hu Huaibang, during the official visit of the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to Moscow.

The term loan facility was signed for a tenor of seven years. The facility consists of two tranches: a USD 100 mln tranche and an RMB-denominated tranche equivalent to USD 100 mln, which has been fixed at roughly RMB 620 mln.

Mr. Andrei Dubovskov, President and CEO of MTS, commented, “Concluding this agreement demonstrates the continued strength of MTS in attracting financing and our success in further diversifying our sources of credit. 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.”