BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian billioniare Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the country’s top telecom operator, is planning its largest ever rupee bond sale for up to 50 billion rupees ($670.65 million) of notes, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
The company is seeking commitments for as much as 50 billion rupees of notes maturing in five years at a coupon rate of 6.20%, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter.
Jio did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The operator plans to use the proceeds from the proposed bond sale to meet its financial liabilities, Bloomberg said.
With 426.6 million wireless subscribers as of October 2021, Jio is India’s largest mobile phone carrier.
Its launch in 2016 and offerings of free calls and cut-price data plans shook up the country’s telecoms sector, forcing rivals to respond with their own cuts and leading to consolidation.
Reliance Jio raised billions of dollars in funding rounds in 2020 from investors, including Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, Qualcomm and Intel. https://reut.rs/3JC8ZT3
Jio is also gearing up to launch 5G services in India, after emerging as the top bidder in the latest airwaves spectrum auctions.
($1 = 74.5550 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
