30th Jan 2006 07:26
Telecom Egypt S.A.E30 January 2006 TELECOM EGYPT Telecom Egypt Maintains Credit Rating of "AA" Stable Outlook for the Company and its EGP 2 Billion Bond Issue Cairo, 30th January, 2006: Telecom Egypt (TE) (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN), todayannounced that Middle East Rating & Investors' Service (MERIS) has maintainedits National Scale Rating of "AA" with a "Stable" outlook for the entity andbond rating. An "AA" grade denotes very strong creditworthiness and a low likelihood ofcredit default, relative to other domestic issuers. The attached "stable outlook" assumes that the company will be able to sustain its current businessand financial results in the medium term. Commenting on the rating, Mr. Ali Salama, Vice Chairman for Financial andCommercial Affairs, said: "We are delighted to being awarded one of the highest National Scale Ratingsawarded to a company operating in Egypt. The rating agency has looked positivelyat our restructuring efforts as well as our actions to prepare ourselves formarket liberalization. Such a positive credit rating reflects the financialstrength and credit worthiness of Telecom Egypt." - Ends - For further information: Investor Relations Contacts Tarek TantawyTelephone: +202 5788826Fax: +202 5789314 Eman AnisTelephone: +202 5788787Fax: +202 5789314 E-mail: [email protected] Notes to Editors: About Telecom Egypt Telecom Egypt (TE), Egypt's incumbent telecommunications operator, wasestablished in 1998 to replace the former Arab Republic of Egypt NationalTelecommunication Organization (ARENTO). As at end September 2005, the companyhad a fixed line subscriber base in excess of 10.3 million subscribers, makingit the largest fixed line provider in the Middle East and Africa. About Telecom Egypt's Bond Issue In February 3rd 2005, Telecom Egypt (TE) has closed the public subscription forits EGP 2 billion bond issue. The bond issue was 100% offered for publicsubscription. The issue consisted of 20 million negotiable, callable bonds notconvertible into shares at a par value of EGP 100 each. The issue was dividedinto two tranches; tranche A: fixed rate tranche at an annual coupon rate of10.95% payable quarterly and tranche B: floating rate at an annual coupon ratebased on the following calculation (Central Bank of Egypt discount rate + 0.70%)payable quarterly. The bond has an amortizing repayment structure with a finalmaturity of 5 years from the day following the close of public subscription. Theproceeds of the issue were used to refinance existing debts and to finance newinvestments. About Middle East Rating & Investors' Service (MERIS) MERIS is Moody's affiliate for Egypt and other countries in the Middle Eastregion. It focuses on issuing independent credit ratings, opinions of therelative creditworthiness of bond issuers or fixed-income issues, research andanalysis to various corporate and banking market participants at the nationalscale/level. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Telecom Egypt S