Reliance Jio is reportedly looking to raise around Rs 8,000 crore through corporate bonds to clear leftover spectrum dues of 2014 and 2015 auctions. According to ET Telecom, the bonds will arrive with five, three, or two-year tenors. Reliance Jio is in talks with the top banks as well as mutual funds in the country. As per the publication’s report, the Jio bonds will attract interest rates of 6.2% and 5.35%.
Reliance Jio Looking to Raise Rs 8,000 Crore for Clearing Spectrum Dues
The largest telco in India is in talks with banks such as the State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank for raising Rs 5,000 crore for a five-year tenor. At the same time, Jio is talking with Mutual Funds to raise another Rs 3,000 crore. According to the publication, Jio will also use a part of this money to refinance some of the short-term loans which were raised earlier through the commercial papers. These loans are maturing in January, February, and June of 2022. It is worth noting that Jio has already paid around Rs 10,792 crore to clear the spectrum dues which the 2016 auctions entailed. However, the dues of the 2014 and 2015 auctions are still left. During the 2014 auctions, Reliance Jio had purchased spectrum worth Rs 11,054 core, out of which Rs 3,648 crore was paid upfront and in the 2015 auctions, the telco again purchased spectrum worth Rs 10,077 crore, out of which it paid Rs 2,695 crore upfront. The telco has already paid annual instalments on these dues, which also includes a two-year moratorium. Including interest, Jio’s dues out of the 2014 and 2015 spectrum auctions are around Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000 crore. Reliance Jio should be able to comfortably raise the money it is looking after. The cash-rich telco was the only company to deny the four-year moratorium on statutory dues that the government offered to all the private operators in the country.
