India’s state-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is planning to raise as much as Rs50bn (US$1.08bn) through short-term and long-term loans by December in order to meet its capital expenditure plans, The Financial Express wrote on its website…
India’s state-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is planning to raise as much as Rs50bn (US$1.08bn) through short-term and long-term loans by December in order to meet its capital expenditure plans, The Financial Express wrote on its website on Thursday, citing a senior executive.
The company is looking to raise about 35%-40% (about Rs50bn) of the proposed capex plan. The rest is expected to be arranged through internal accruals, the senior executive explained, according to the website.
The company projects to use the funds to purchase equipment, upgrade of network and roll-outs of 3G and BWA services.
The Financial Express also reports that the company may scale down its capex, although this remains uncertain as it is still in the planning stage. In addition, the source explained that the fundraising would depend on the overall revenues generated this year.
The group posted a net loss of Rs18.2bn ($395m) at the weekend for the fiscal year 2009/2010. In addition, harsh competition in the country pushed down revenues by 10% to Rs320bn (US$6.93bn). Those losses may jeopardise BSNL’s plans for an initial public offering.
BSNL was not available for comment by press time.
