(MENAFN) Make-loss telecoms firm Zain Saudi has delayed the repayment of its USD2.4 billion debt for the fifth time, this time by 21 days, Reuters reported.
Lenders have agreed to defer the Islamic loan (murabha) maturity originally due in July 2011, until December 19.
Zain Saudi explained that the new delay was aimed at allowing it and its lenders the opportunity to finalize a new long-term financing agreement to replace the existing one.
Zain Saudi has not made a quarterly net profit since launching operations in 2008.
As of September 30, the company's debts reached about USD5.2 billion, and it has struggled to compete against rivals Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Mobily, which between them claim nearly 90 percent of the Saudi Arabia's mobile subscribers.
Last month, Zain Saudi reported a 2 percent increase in quarterly loss from a year earlier, while for the nine months to September 30 its revenue fell 6 percent and costs rose 3 percent.
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