State-owned Indian telco Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) has raised Rs5bn (US$109m) from banks to refinance existing loans, according to local reports.
MTNL chairman and managing director Kuldip Singh was quoted saying that the company is seeking to…
State-owned Indian telco Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) has raised Rs5bn (US$109m) from banks to refinance existing loans, according to local reports.
MTNL chairman and managing director Kuldip Singh was quoted saying that the company is seeking to borrow an additional Rs10bn (US$217m).
The company could not be reached for comment before the press deadline.
These reports follow rumours back in July suggesting that MTNL had invited bids from banks to raise Rs15bn (US$326m) in a seven-year loan with floating interest rates.
Before that, in May, local media reported that MTNL was looking to restructure parts of its Rs70bn (US$1.52bn) loan taken out to buy 3G and BWA spectrum last summer.
Newspapers explained that the company was seeking to convert about Rs30bn (US$652m) into a seven-year debt facility.
At the time, MTNL had reportedly already restructured about Rs35bn (US$761m) of the Rs70bn loan by repaying Rs5bn and reaching an agreement with two state-owned banks for the remaining Rs30bn.
Meanwhile it has also been reported that the Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is examining proposals by the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) to merge MTNL with another state-owned telco, Banat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), and with equipment maker Indian Telephone Industries (ITI).
