February 1, 2001
As growth in the Latin American telecoms industry exploded, deep-pocketed equipment vendors used financing deals to beat the competition. But this successful marketing tool could be turning into a balance sheet disaster.
As growth in the Latin American telecoms industry exploded, deep-pocketed equipment vendors used financing deals to beat the competition. But this successful marketing tool could be turning into a balance sheet disaster.Telecommunications equipment vendors probably never imagined that lending to cash-strapped customers would turn into an agonizing financial headache. But that is exactly what has happened.
As vicious competition for business in Latin America forced companies like Lucent, Ericsson and Nortel to start bankrolling customers no one else would, word got around. Well-established telecom companies that could get financing elsewhere soon began to demand the same financial suppo