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Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications has drawn the first tranche of Rs 3,000 crore ($665 million) from China Development Bank.
“RCom has drawn down first tranche of Rs 3,000 crore out of the Rs 8,700-crore facility signed with China Development Bank (CDB) on March 9, 2011,” RCom said in a statement today.
The facility includes Rs 6,000 crore ($1.33 billion) for refinancing 3G spectrum fee payment by RCom and Rs 2,700 crore ($600 million) for equipment imports from Chinese vendors.
“The drawn down amount will be used to refinance RCom’s short-term rupee borrowings, resulting in substantial savings in its interest cost apart from extending RCom’s debt maturity profile,” it said.
The loan facility, which is fully underwritten by CDB, is being funded by a syndicate of Chinese banks or financial institutions including CDB.
Terming the loan as the largest in the history of telecom sector, the company said the balance drawdown is expected shortly.
RCom, which has a debt of over Rs 32,000 crore as on December 2010, benefits from extended loan maturity of 10 years and substantial interest cost savings.
The company completed the procedure for obtaining the Rs 8,700-crore loan on March 9, 2011.
In May last year, RCom won 13 key telecom circles during the 3G auction, including the key metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
It holds 3G licences in the telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.
RCom had paid Rs 8,585.04 crore to the Government towards securing the 3G spectrum.
Meanwhile, the shares of RCom closed at Rs 106.30 a piece, up 3.25 per cent from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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