Bharti raises $354 m for expansion

NEW DELHI: Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd., India's largest provider of GSM mobile phone services, has raised $354 million in long-term foreign loans to fund its expansion, a company statement informed.

Bharti, 28 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., has been a big beneficiary of a revolution in India's mobile services industry, where the subscriber base is nearly doubling every year.

Bharti said in a statement it had raised $254 million from Swedish export credit agency EKN and another $100 million from FinnFund at an approximate spread of 35 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate.

"The total cost of funding is approximately 4.4 percent without currency hedge. The long-term funding has an average tenure of over five years," the Bharti statement said.

The funds will be used for expanding Bharti's phone network and rolling out services in new circles. Bharti currently provides mobile phone services in 20 of India's 23 circles or zones and is set to complete its national rollout shortly.