Globe Telecom has tapped three insurers for fresh capital to fund its $700 million nationwide network modernization program and refinance debts.
The company has signed a long-term fixed-rate loan facility for 2 billion Philippine pesos ($47.8 million) with the Philippine American Life and General lnsurance Company, the Insular Life Assurance Company and Sunlife of Canada (Philippines), Globe said in a statement on Tuesday.
The operator said “proceeds of the loan will be used to refinance a portion of the company's debts as well as to fund capital expenditure requirements for 2013.”
The 10-year loan facility was arranged by Insular lnvestment Corporation.
Albert De Larrazabal, Globe's CFO said: "We want to take advantage of the current low interest rate environment to fund capital expenditure requirements for next year and refinance our loans, allowing us to generate savings for the company. ''
To fund this year’s capex, Globe Telecom earlier obtained loans from China Bank, Banco de Oro, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp and also undertook a 10-billion pesos bond offer.
Globe’s ongoing network modernization, which has an estimated cost of $700 million, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.
Once completed, the new network will have an all-lP architecture as well as 12,000 additional kilometers of fiber optic cable capacity to handle the expected increase in voice and data traffic and the capability to upgrade to more advanced technologies.
The new network is also designed to reduce the costs of operating, maintaining, and upgrading as the company shifts towards more power-efficient equipment and adopts more green solutions that will further reduce its carbon footprint and energy consumption, the operator said.