Jio Seeks To Raise Up To $2 Billion In Loans In Offshore Loans To Fund 5G Plans: Report

BNP Paribas will provide $1.9 billion-$2 billion over a nine-month period during which the telecom firm will pay back Ericsson, BNP, and some other banks, according to the report

The telecom wing of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, Jio Infocomm, to raise up to $2 billion in offshore loans, with BNP Paribas acting as lead arranger, to fund the purchase of 5G network gear from Ericsson, the Economic Times (ET) said on Monday. According to the report, BNP Paribas will provide $1.9 billion-$2 billion over a nine-month period during which the telecom firm will pay back Ericsson, BNP, and some other banks, citing a source privy to the development ET stated.

The report neither mentioned the individual amounts that Jio will pay back to Ericsson, BNP and other entities in the loan deal nor clarified whether BNP was acting on behalf of a consortium. According to the report, the fundraise is through a discounted process, and the implicit interest rate will be arrived at over the nine-month period.

Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson in October last year said that its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions will be deployed in Jio's 5G rollout in India.

Jio had tied up with Swedish export credit agency EKN for a $2.2 billion funding to finance the equipment and services for the 5G plan, the Indian conglomerate said in its latest annual report. "The $2.2 billion cover from EKN will likely reduce Jio's overall 5G gear funding costs as global lenders and 5G equipment supplier involved in such a large deal will be more comfortable," ET said, citing another source.

Jio has been in loan talks to help finance its 5G rollout, including reports of signing a deal with Nokia for $1.7 billion.

Mukesh Ambani, during its 46th Annual General Meeting 2023 on August 28, announced Jio AirFiber will be launched on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on September 19 this year. He said that Reliance Jio was launched seven years ago with an ambitious mission to transform India into a Premier Digital Society. Jio has been main catalyst of New India’s spectacular digital transformation. Now our ambitions go beyond the shores of India.

"We began 5G rollout last October. In 9 months, Jio 5G is already present in over 96 per cent of the census towns. And we are on track to cover entire country by Dec ’23. This makes Jio 5G the fastest-ever 5G rollout anywhere in the world," he said. With over 50 million 5G customers, Jio is already leading in 5G adoption in India, Ambani added.