JEDDAH – Kuwait's Zain said Sunday it paid SR867.8 million ($231.4 million) to Motorola on behalf of its unit Zain Saudi to cover costs related to a contract entered by the unit with the US firm. Zain said it made the payment on Dec. 12 to alleviate financial burden from its Saudi unit and to support the company's operations, it said in a bourse statement. According to the statement, the amount paid covers services that Motorola had provided the Zain unit in 2009 and agreed to pay at a later stage. Last month, it was reported that Zain Saudi extended the maturity of a SR9 billion ($2.4 billion) Islamic loan until Dec. 19, it said in a bourse statement, making it the fifth time the loss-making telecom operator has deferred payment. “The company announces that it has been granted an approval from the lenders to extend the maturity date of the syndicated Murabaha facility until 19 December 2012 and could also be extended further,” it said in a statement. “The purpose of this extension is to allow the Company and its Lenders the opportunity to finalize a new long-term financing agreement to replace the existing one,” it said. – SG/Reuters
