Zapp has $1 bln Bank of China credit line

Part of the money will be used to finance Zapp’s 3G infrastructure. Zapp is controlled by Saudi Oger group. Sources said that Nader Hariri, President of Telemobil S.A., operator of the Zapp network, and Saudi Oger President, Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was in Romania last week to sign the contract between Zapp and Chinese telecom equipment supplier ZTE, which is to implement Zapp’s 3G network.

Zapp’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Cristina Lazar, confirmed Nader Hariri’s visit to Romania

Another significant player on the telecom market, RCS&RCS, also plans to launch a 3G network. It recently borrowed $500 million (€342 million) from a bank consortium. Thus, ING loaned $130 mln to Zapp, while a further $148 mln loan came from ABN Amro. Citibank, Bank Austria Creditanstalt and Raiffeisen contributed $43 mln each to the syndicated loan, through their subsidiaries, according to market sources.

Currently, only the two largest mobile operators in Romania, Orange and Vodafone, are operating 3G networks.