OREANDA-NEWS. "COMSTAR - United TeleSystems" JSC ("Comstar") (LSE: CMST) today announced that the Board of Directors (the "Board") has approved a 5-year ruble-denominated credit facility of RUR 26 billion (approximately US$ 1 billion) at a fixed rate of 7,6% with Savings Bank of the Russian Federation (Sberbank).
 
The collateral used to secure the credit facility will consist of a 17,3% stake (3,378,173,750 shares) in Telecommunication Investment Joint Stock Company (Svyazinvest) owned by Comstar and a 7,7% stake (1,501,410,556 shares) in Svyazinvest owned by MGTS Finance S.A.

The credit line will be used to finance spending on telecommunications network development, including the refinancing of existing loans, such as the repayment of a US$ 675 million six month loan from ABN AMRO and Morgan Stanley, which were received in December 2006.