CJSC ARMENTEL TO INVEST ABOUT $90 MILLION IN DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION IN ARMENIA IN 2007
ArmInfo
2007-09-14 14:15:00
CJSC ArmenTel, branch of OJSC VimpelCom, will invest in development
of telecommunication in Armenia about $90 million, VimpelCom Executive
Vice President for CIS Dmitry Pleskanos told ArmInfo.
He said the company can use these funds within the year. The
investments will be used to improve the quality of services and
cover the whole territory of Armenia, he said. D.Pleskanos refused
to comment on the investments made in 2006 since VimpelCom acquired
ArmenTel at the end of 2006.
He said the company has already taken a number of measures to improve
the quality of services and the communication. In particular, a new
billing center was activated and convergent billing solutions ave
been introduced. Automatic redial from Russia to Armenia has been
improved. D. Pleskanov said VimpelCom is satisfied with the results
of CJSC ArmenTel in Armenia. We have rather good growth indicators
though we a bit hesitate over the share of subscribers in the market
(some 35%). He said that the company intends to wage a flexible tariff
policy to extend the subscriber network. D. Pleskanos mentioned that
ArmenTel refuses from all types of monopoly services starting from
October 1 2007, which will allow activating the competition in the
market. He also added that VimpelCom will not rebrand its branch
because ArmenTel is rather a strong and well-known brand.
To recall, VimpelCon acquired 90pct stake in CJSC ArmenTel from Greek
OTE on November 3 2006 for 341.9 million euro. Moreover, Russian
company incurred 40 million euro indebtness of ArmenTel. The remaining
10pct stake in CJSC ArmenTel was acquired from the Government of
Armenia in 2007.