TA Orange Company Ltd.

completed

The project consists of the long term financing of TA Orange Company Limited (TA Orange or the company), the third largest provider of GSM mobile telephony services in Thailand. The company launched full commercial services in March 2002, operating a digital GSM 1800 network covering 77 percent of the population on a nationwide scale. As of June 2004, the company’s total subscriber base amounted to 2.3 million, translating into a 9 percent share of the country’s mobile telephony market. TA Orange provides mobile communications under a concession agreement in the Thai market. Existing operations provide mobile coverage to 77% of the Thai population through a network of approximately 3,500 Radio equipment sites and three switching sites. The expansion phase (phase 4) has two key aspects, firstly increasing the provision of service to the Thai consumer by increasing the network (population) coverage area progressively to 86% (end 2005) and 91% (end 2006). Secondly, the investment will provide for new products and services based on data network capabilities, particularly focused on providing the consumer with life–enhancing services. Phase 4 will clearly add a number of new radio sites into the network (approximately 1,200). Phase 4 will, in the long term, create additional employment in order to support the increased infrastructure and services to be provided.