Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL), the telecom arm of Mukesh
Ambani-controlled RIL, proposed to raise $1.5 billion from 26 banks to
refinance loans taken in 2010 and guaranteed by the parent company, according
to a statement.The refinancing comprises a $1 billion tranche with a total
maturity of 5.5 years, and a $500 million facility that will mature in seven
years – which is “the longest average maturity for an unsecured syndicated loan
of similar size in Asia this year”, the statement said.
The debt deal saw participation from 26 banks, including 15
mandated lead arrangers and book runners (MLABs), namely ANZ, BoA, Barclays,
BNP Paribas, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citigroup
Global, Crédit Agricole, DBS, HSBC, Mizuho, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard
Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Westpac Banking Corp.Last month,
Reliance Jio had raised a $750 million loan from Korea Exim Bank to finance the
purchase of telecoms infrastructure from Samsung.
Reliance Jio bought 4G airwaves in 2010 in an auction by the
government, but is yet to launch the services. The company is also the first
telecom operator to hold a pan-India unified licence that authorises the
company to provide all telecommunication services other than satellite
telephony.
