Reliance Jio Infocomm plans to raise additional funding of Rs 12,300 crore over External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) to support the 5G CAPEX.

The company has communicated with foreign banks, including BNP Paribas, HSBC, and MUFG Bank, three familiar people told ET. The Telco aims to collect enough funding for five years via the ECB route after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed norms a few months before; the sources told ET. In addition to the capital raising via Reliance, Jio Infocomm also discusses offshore syndicated loans of Rs 20,600 crore. This capital will be utilised to buy 5G network gear from Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia.

As per a source, $1.5 billion offshore loans may be priced after adding 150-165 bps over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a global rate gauge that replaced the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The company has called individual banks offering the fund-raising, aiming to raise the money in the middle of November.

Bank of America, Credit Agricole, DBS Bank, and Société Générale are among discussions with the company on the ECB, another person said, quoted by ET. In July, the RBI folded the ECB limit under the involuntary route to $1.5 billion in a fiscal year and endorsed FPIs to invest in more debt securities. The regulations’ easing is effective until the end of the calendar 2022. Talks over both loans are going on “instantaneously”, said an executive involved in the exercise, per the report.

An individual said that the Rs 20,600-crore loan is likely to be of a five-year tenor, pricing after adding 130-150 bps over SOFR. This comes as a booming step after the government’s pressure speeding the process of 5G accessible in India. Telco invests Rs 2 lakh crore, including spectrum costs, to set up its pan-India 5G network. The auction concluded in August and expended Rs 88,078 crore on 5G air-waves. Earlier this month, Jio started its 5G beta amenities in four cities, planning to provide countrywide exposure by December 2023.