Moscow -- Vimpelcom Ltd. has signed a credit agreement with China Development Bank and Bank of China for $1 billion, the company said in a statement.
The loan is for 8 years, and it is unsecured and guaranteed by Vimpelcom Amsterdam B.V. The new credit line is in addition to the loan for $500 million, which was raised by the operator from China Development Bank in December 2012.
The funds will be used to finance the capital expenses of Vimpelcom’s various operating companies.
In October, financing amounting to $500 million was received by OJSC MegaFon from China Development Bank.
The net debt of Vimpelcom Ltd. at the end of September 2014 was $21.7 billion, which is 6% less than at the end of the previous quarter, and total debt was $27.7 billion, down 5%. The net debt to EBITDA ratio increased to 2.5 (a year earlier it was 2.3). The weighted average cost of debt was 6.3%, which is 0.8 percentage points lower than in Q2 of this year.
At the end of the quarter Vimpelcom had $6 billion in cash. Before the end of the year the company must repay $0.8 million in debt and in 2015 – $2.9 billion.
