Related News

Export Development Canada (EDC) and JSCB Promsvyazbank (PSB) have announced a US$10.5mn agreement to support the sale of GSM telecoms equipment to Russian mobile operator Smarts, based in Samara, Russia.
EDC will provide the six-year loan agreement with PSB to assist Nortel in expanding its share of the Russian telecom market by effecting key relationships with proactive Russian banks like PSB. Russia is one of EDC’s key strategic markets.
“EDC believes that Canadian exporters in the telecom sector will benefit greatly from EDC’s agreement with PSB, as we continue to develop this key partnership in the Russian strategic market,” says Eric Siegel, EDC executive vice-president, medium and long-term financial services. “Today’s agreement is another example of how EDC provides attractive financing solutions for Canadian exporters like Nortel.”
PSB has produced sustained profitability since 1995, ranking among the top 15 banks in Russia in terms of assets, and has been a vital player in supporting Russia’s rapid economic growth during the past five years.
Smarts is the fourth largest mobile operator in Russia behind Vimpelcom, MTS and Megafon.  Nortel views Smarts as a key Russian mobile operator that will help the Canadian telecom company expand its market share in the very competitive Russian telecom market.