THE Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) plans to invest 213 million leva in its new mobile venture BTC Mobile, set to operate under the Vivatel brand name, the company announced on August 25. 

The decision to invest still has to be approved by a general shareholders extraordinary meeting on October 7. According to BTC, the funds will be provided through a share capital increase, cash contributions, loans or collaterals for bank loans.

BTC Mobile hopes to take credits from commercial banks. 

The proposed investment includes the previously announced funding of up to 50 million euro ($62 million), approved by shareholders on April 8 as part of a 285 million-euro syndicated loan. The loan was co-managed by Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Citibank, ING Bank and EFG Telesis Finance.

At the same meeting, shareholders decided to transfer the license for GSM telephony to BTC Mobile since, according to law, a company cannot combine fixed and mobile telephone services. 

Viva Ventures, an Austria-based unit of US private equity fund Advent International, acquired 65 per cent of the state-owned monopoly BTC in June 2004. As part of the privatisation deal, BTC was awarded a GSM operator licence.

The remaining shares have been traded on the Sofia Stock Exchange, following an initial public offering in January.

The Bulgarian mobile market has been dominated for the last two years by Mobiltel (62 per cent) and Globul (38 per cent). Vivatel plans to offer much lower rates for mobile services than its rivals.

Vivatel is expected to launch its services by the end of the year, BTC said.