NII doesn't expect slower growth in Latin America

NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - NII Holdings Inc (NIHD.O), a leading wireless service provider in five major Latin American countries, does not expect a slowdown in business in the region this year, the company's executive chairman said.

NII Holdings is mindful that both the U.S. and world economies are slowing, but that hasn't been felt at the company, said Steven Shindler in an interview on Monday.

The Reston, Virginia-based company operates in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile under the Nextel brand. More than half the company's revenue is generated in Mexico.

"There's a robustness even in Mexico across the border. There's underlying strength in the economy," Shindler said. "All the other countries that we're in, there has been no impact whatsoever."

The company, whose customers are mainly businesses, said in February it expected to add 1.4 million subscribers in 2008, a 30 percent growth rate.

Shindler was in New York where he was honored Monday at a dinner for the World Education Development Fund for his commitment to education in Latin America.

Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive of Brazilian oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N), also received the Worldfund's education leadership award.

Ultimately, the goal is to boost education among the poor in Latin America to levels that are comparable to the United States, Shindler said. A facility to be built in Monterrey, Mexico, to train teachers is part of that goal, he said.

"Of all the various things that you can support, contribute to around the world, whether it's hunger, disease or overpopulation, they're rooted in education," he said. (Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Derek Caney)