Mobily proposes debt settlement plan to Alcatel-Lucent: Report

Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) has proposed a plan to settle its debt with global telecom equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent, Al-Yaum newspaper reported.

Despite mounting losses and debt at Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Zain Saudi over the last year, the two firms were said to have fulfilled their payment obligations.  

Argaam reported in April that Mobily had been negotiating with creditors over loan terms, which will be finalized by the second quarter of this year. The total loans stood at SAR 16.17 billion at the end of March, compared with SAR 16.99 billion in 2014.

The kingdom’s second-largest mobile operator previously said that it had repaid SAR 872 million in debt during the first quarter of this year, following the settlement of SAR 2 billion in 2014.

Mobily’s troubles have mounted since then, as its shares were suspended earlier this month by the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The telco is being investigated by authorities for suspected insider trading.