UPDATE 2-Egypt's OT gets month-long waiver from lenders

* Orascom waiver a technical step ahead of rights issue

* Waiver will not affect co's debt repayment schedule (Adds details, bylines)

By Alexander Dziadosz and Patrick Werr

CAIRO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Egypt's Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) (ORTEq.L) (OT) has obtained a month-long waiver from major lenders that will allow it to go ahead with an $800 million capital increase, the company said on Thursday.

The waiver is a technical step that will not affect the repayment schedule of $2.5 billion of debt, the company's chairman said, but is required ahead of a capital increase to help it weather a tax dispute with Algeria.

"It's a systematic thing. Our plan is the same, we're going to do a capital increase," Chief Executive Officer Khaled Bichara told Reuters. "Once the capital increase is done, you will not need the waiver anymore."

Asked whether the waiver would affect the company's debt repayment schedule, Bichara said: "No."

Egyptian market heavyweight Orascom, which runs mobile phone operations from North Africa to North Korea, was hit with a $596.6 million bill in November for outstanding Algerian taxes and penalties.

Orascom has said it would contest the decision by Algeria's tax authority, which ruled that the company's Algerian mobile operator Djezzy had not kept proper accounts between 2005 and 2007.

Djezzy had revenue of $1.8 billion in 2007.

"Under the $2.5 billion facility, every time there's a rollover of the facility the company has to make a representation that there's no substantial tax claim," a company official told Reuters in an emailed statement.

RIGHTS ISSUE

The official, who asked not to be named, said the rights issue would remediate the Algerian tax claim.

"Because of the Algerian tax claim, the company asked lenders for a short-term waiver, which it successfully obtained," the official said. "Once the rights offering is completed, all conditions under this waiver will be met."

Analysts said they did not believe the waiver signalled any change in the company's ability to repay its debt, and Orascom shares ended the day 0.7 percent higher, outperforming the benchmark index .EGX30, which slipped 0.2 percent.

"We can consider it as legal paperwork," Beltone analyst Sally Gerges said. "It's a different issue than the Dubai debt crisis, which had an impact on the economy as a whole."

Orascom had said earlier this month that it was seeking shareholder approval for an $800 million rights issue, and would use the money to cover any cash shortfall as it tries to resolve the tax dispute with Algeria.

Orascom's shareholders are due to vote on the rights issue at a meeting on Sunday, and Bichara said it would likely be approved.

Orascom said its parent company Weather Investments had committed to subscribing to 51 percent of the capital increase and would cover any shortfall.

Weather Investments is the ownership vehicle of billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris, and controls 50.6 percent of Orascom, according to Reuters data. (Additional reporting by Sherine El Madany, editing by Maureen Bavdek)