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The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) is arranging a loan to provide Telecom Italia’s mobile subsidiary TIM Peru with up to US$120mn in funding. The loan has not yet been authorised nor has a timeframe been established but it is believed that the IFC’s participation will comprise a US$35mn loan and a US$15mn subordinated loan, with a group of commercial banks providing the balance through a US$70mn syndicated loan.

The loan will help finance TIM

  • Peru’s network deployment, the total cost of which the IFC estimates to be US$360mn. The project includes the expansion and upgrade of the network to increase capacity and coverage, improve quality and reliability, and offer more value-added services.

    The IFC claims to have singled out TIM Peru over other operators because of its efforts to make mobile services widely available in Peru, which lags far behind the region with mobile penetration of only 7%.

    TIM Peru’s growth strategy involves mass marketing of mobile services, particularly through the aggressive promotion of more affordable prepaid services. The third largest of Peru’s three mobile operators, the company plans to close 2002 with 400,000 subscribers and a 20% market share. TIM Peru had just over 300,000 subscribers at the end of August.