RUSSIAN FIRM CLAIMS ARMENTEL TAKEOVER

Russian mobile operator Vimpel-Communications said Friday it agreed to buy a 90 percent stake in Armenia Telephone Co. (ArmenTel) from Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA for 341.9 million euros ($436.3 million) plus about 40 million euros (US$51 million) in debt. ArmenTel has about 600,000 fixed-line and 400,000 mobile subscribers. Completion of the deal is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including approval by the government of Armenia. "With approximately 40 percent mobile market share, ArmenTel occupies a strong position in the Armenian market and we will work to enhance this position," said VimpelCom Chief Executive Alexander Izosimov. VimpelCom operates phone services in Russia and Kazakhstan and recently acquired cellular operators in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia. The VimpelCom Group's cellular license portfolio covers a territory with a population of about 237 million.
AP

Headlines for November 03, 2006

YEREVAN SEES NO FRESH HIKE IN RUSSIAN GAS PRICE
By Ruben Meloyan
Officials in Yerevan appeared confident on Thursday that Armenia will be unaffected, at least in the next two years, by a possible further increase in the price of Russian natural gas delivered to neighboring ...
RUSSIAN FIRM CLAIMS ARMENTEL TAKEOVER
AP
Russian mobile operator Vimpel-Communications said Friday it agreed to buy a 90 percent stake in Armenia Telephone Co. (ArmenTel) from Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA for 341.9 ...
U.S. URGED TO WITHHOLD PROMISED AID TO ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan
A leading U.S. human rights organization urged the U.S. administration on Friday to withhold promised economic assistance to Armenia and six other developing countries which it believes fail to meet “reasonable ...
ARMENIA REMAINS SAFE COUNTRY, INSIST POLICE
By Anna Saghabalian
Armenia remains one of the safest countries in Europe and the former Soviet Union despite a series of high-profile killings committed this year, the national Police Service insisted on Friday. Lieutenant-General ...
KARABAKH SETS CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE FOR DECEMBER
AP
The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday ordered a constitutional referendum to be held next month. President Arkady Ghukasian set the referendum for December 10, his office said. The draft constitution ...