Albtelecom Gets 100 Million Euro Loan

TIRANA, April 18 – Albania’s phone company, Albtelecom, signed a 100 million euro loan from two banks on Friday to upgrade its technology and increase its telephone calling capacity.
The company said it was borrowing 75 million Euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and 25 million Euros from the Black Sea Trade & Development Bank.
Albtelecom said the loan would be used to upgrade its network, increase capacity and improve service.
Turkey’s Calik Enerji Telekomunikasyon AS. Consortium holds a 76 percent stake in Albtelecom, which provides service to ten percent of Albania’s 3.2 million population.
The Turkish consortium also owns Albania’s third mobile phone operator, Eagle Mobile, which began operating last month.
The EBRD extended a 75 million euro loan to support the reform and modernization of Albtelecom Sh. A., the main Albanian telecommunications operator, which was privatized in 2007 and is now majority-owned by a Turkish consortium, it said in a statement.
The EBRD loan will allow Albtelecom to restructure its operations, making it a more efficient and customer-oriented company. Following the investment, Albtelecom will be able to offer new services to its customers in Albania. The capital investment programme includes investments to upgrade and expand its existing fixed-line network infrastructure, build a new mobile GSM network and develop new broadband and data services.
The Black Sea Trade & Development Bank loan will be provided to the private consortium of Turkish investors – Calik Energi Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri A.S (CETEL) and Turk Telekomuni-kasyon A.S (Turk Telecom). Established in 1912 as a state-owned telecom and postal services company in Albania, Albtelecom was privatized in 2007 when the government sold a 76 percent stake to the consortium of Calik Enerji and Turk Telecom. Albtelecom is currently the dominant fixed-line operator in the country, with a network of some 275,000 lines and about 256,000 subscribers, primarily in urban areas.
Varel Freeman, EBRD First Vice-President, said this loan underscores the bank’s commitment to supporting the full liberalization and modernization of the telecom sector, whose reform is of crucial importance for the country’s full transition to a market economy.
In addition to increasing dynamism in the sector, the project will demonstrate to other companies in Albania the benefits of restructuring their companies in order to achieve greater efficiency, raise the standard of services and improve the level of employee competence which will have a positive effect on the entire economy.
Andrey Kondakov, BSTDB Vice-President, said the development of a modern telecommunications sector is a priority for BSTDB in all its member countries. The Bank’s cooperation with the EBRD on this operation in Albania is a successful example of efficient co-financing between the two international financial institutions and commercial banks. Being a regional development bank, BSTDB officials said it is especially important to support this initiative by Turkish investors in Albania that promotes regional cooperation, Kondakov added.
Calik Enerji is a fully-owned subsidiary of Calik Group, a Turkish conglomerate operating mainly in the textile, construction, energy, media and financial services in Turkey and in neighboring countries. Turk Telecom is the incumbent Turkish telecoms operator, majority-owned by Saudi Oger Telecom.