Vimpelcom in $303m bonds issue

VIMPELCOM, owner of Beeline, the newest entrant into Cambodia's increasingly crowded mobile-phone sector, announced late Tuesday it was issuing bonds totalling 10 billion Russian rubles (US$303 million).

In a statement on its Web site, Russia's second-largest mobile-phone operator said the issue "will be used for refinancing of VimpelCom's existing indebtedness denominated in foreign currency and the development of VimpelCom's core business".

The announcement comes after the company acknowledged Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg News that it was interested in acquiring Millicom International's Asian assets, which include a 58.4-percent stake in the Kingdom's market leader Mobitel.

Vimpelcom said it would pay 15.2 percent interest semi-annually on the bonds, which are due to mature on July 8, 2014.

Vimpelcom (NYSE: VIP) rose 5.8 percent to $10.58 on the New York Stock Exchange in Tuesday trading.


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