By IANS,
New Delhi : Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), a joint venture between Russian conglomerate Sistema and India’s Shyam group, has got a Rs.500-crore loan from Central Bank of India to fund its expansion plans.
“The loan from Central Bank of India is an affirmation of the confidence in our business plan by financial institutions ensuring our rollout plans in line with our strategy. The loan amount will be used for capital as well as operational expenditure”, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Sergey Savchenko said Tuesday.
The loan has been given for a term of two years with repayment of the entire amount after maturity, he added.
SSTL, which operates MTS brand of telecom service in India, completed a year of operation on March 26.
It has licences to launch mobile services in all the 22 circles across the country. At present, MTS has four million subscribers in 11 circles.
Present in the CDMA space, the company is planning to expand its broadband wireless services to 100 cities across India by the year-end.
To fund its expansion, the company is also planning to hit the capital market.
Sistema is the majority shareholder in SSTL with a 73.71 percent equity stake.