Finnvera guarantees Nokia’s mobile phone network deliveries to India

Finnvera’s export credit guarantee of USD 95 million is the first ever provided for deliveries of Nokia network equipment to India. The credit guaranteed by Finnvera is part of the largest financial arrangements made in the telecommunications sector last year.

Finnvera granted the guarantee of USD 95 million against political and commercial risks in conjunction with a buyer credit arrangement provided for Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, one of India’s leading telecom operators. This is the first guarantee that Finnvera has granted for deliveries of Nokia network equipment to India. The credit of USD 100 million was arranged by ABN Amro Bank N.V. and the lender is Finnfund (the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd). The repayment period is ten years.

The credit guaranteed by Finnvera is part of a larger financial arrangement that also involves the Swedish export credit agency EKN (Exportkreditnämnden). Amounting to USD 354 million, the financing arranged by ABN Amro for Bharti was one of the largest international financial arrangements made in the telecommunications sector last year.

Bharti is expanding its operations on the rapidly growing Indian mobile phone market. In November 2004 the company had nearly 10 million subscribers. The total number of mobile phone subscribers in India is approximately 40 million, while the mobile penetration on the Indian market is under 4 per cent.

For further information:
Topi Vesteri, Deputy Managing Director, tel. +358 20 460 7238
Juhani Mononen, Head of Telecommunication, tel. +358 20 460 7353
Liisa Ahtola, Senior Adviser, Telecommunication, tel. +358 20 460 7337