The Hindu Business Line : Reliance Comm may raise funds abroad

Reliance Communications will hold a board meeting on January 10 to consider raising funds through issue of foreign currency convertible bonds or through other instruments.

The board will consider raising resources in the international market by way of FCCBs / external commercial borrowings, etc, said the company in a statement to the stock exchanges on Wednesday.

The company did not elaborate on how much was proposed to be raised or the purpose for which the funds would be raised. But officials said it could pertain to the recent announcements made by the company.

The two announcements recently made by the company are its interest in bidding for pan-India GSM wireless operator Hutchison Essar Ltd; and upgradation of its FLAG international cable network through laying 50,000 km of an Internet Protocol New Generation Network.

Last week, the Chairman of RCom, Mr Anil Ambani, had announced that among the various organic and inorganic opportunities for growth being pursued by his company, one was the potential acquisition of Hutchison Essar Ltd.

RCom (which is largely in CDMA play) had already announced that there is going to be an enhanced focus on GSM in future; "So it fits in nicely within the strategy," he had said.

He had also said that he had received commitment from a majority of the 10 leading international lenders and private equity investors for financial support for its bid for Hutch-Essar, which was "far in excess of what we can ever consume."

"However, as is customary, there is no certainty either on the completion, or the timing, of any such proposal," Mr Ambani had said.

RCom has competition from UK-based Vodafone group which has made public its interest in acquiring Hutch-Essar.

Another potential competitor is the Essar group itself, which owns 33 per cent stake in Hutch-Essar; and which, according to sources close to the group, has also said that it has backing from banks and financial institutions to back a possible buy-out of Hutch-Essar

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