Sistema Shyam Teleservice Ltd. (SSTL), a joint venture between Russian conglomerate Sistema and India's Shyam group, on Monday said it has signed a mandate letter with Russian bank Gazprombank for a loan of $200 million. "The loan will be used to fund the firm's investment programme and it will be secured by Gazprombank letter of credit," the company said in a statement.

The company has licences to provide telecom services in all the 22 circles of India. However, it currently operates in 13 circles only.

"The agreement reinforces our commitment to roll out a world class telecom network in India by harnessing the power of CDMA technology. This is bound to benefit both our customers and also create value for all our shareholders," said Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer, Sistema Shyam Teleservices.