Ltd. said it has stopped making payments on its debt to retain enough cash to continue operating into 2002.

The Hamilton-based company missed a $45 million payment that was due on Monday under its vendor financing agreements with QUALCOMM Inc. and Loral Space & Communications Ltd. and on its Loral credit facility.

Overall, Loral has invested about $1.3 billion in Globalstar and owns a 39 percent stake in the company.

By indefinitely suspending all principal and interest payments, including credit facility, vendor financing agreements and stock- dividend payments, Globalstar expects to save $400 million in cash.

At the end of 2000, the company had $195 million in cash. Globalstar said it will continue to meet payroll and obligations with trade suppliers.

It has also hired The Blackstone Group to help the company restructure its debt and find investors.

Loral expects the move will reduce its cash receipts from Globalstar by $140 million, and it will take a fourth-quarter charge related to the investment.

QUALCOMM, which has $610 million in assets related to its Globalstar investment, said the company's action will not materially affect its operating earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2000.

Founded in 1991 by Loral and QUALCOMM, Globalstar operates 48 satellites to provide wireless phone service from anywhere in the world.

The company partners with mobile phone operators such as Vodafone and France Telecom, which use the Globalstar network to transmit calls not covered by their own land-based networks.

The company launched its wireless phone service in 2000, but by November it had only signed up 21,300 subscribers, well below the 500,000 needed to break even on operating costs.

Globalstar plans to use the cash originally intended for debt payments to drum up new business and further develop its data- transmission services.