Reliance Jio raises 12 year loan of $750 mn

Telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) has signed a $750 million loan backed by Korea Exim Bank to finance goods and services procured from Samsung Electronics for rolling out its infrastructure.

"This is the first loan between Reliance Group and Korea Exim Bank and has a door to door tenor of 12 years including a 2 year availability period and repayable over 10 years thereafter," Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd said in a statement.

This deal is notably Korea Exim Bank's largest telecom infrastructure financing till date, RJIL said, adding that it is also Korea Exim Bank's largest deal in India.

"The loan is guaranteed by RIL and will be primarily used to finance goods and services procured from Samsung Electronics for the infrastructure rollout of RJIL," the statement said.

Korea Exim Bank is funding $440 million of the loan as a direct funding and the balance $310 million is being funded under the K-Exim covered guarantee by 11 of Reliance's relationship banks.

The list of these banks include The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Commerzbank AG, ING Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and a new relationship NongHyup Bank.

RJIL holds spectrum in 1800 MHz (across 14 circles) and 2300 MHz (across 22 circles) capable of offering 4G telecom services.

The company has plans to launch its telecom services in 2015 using both available 4G technology.