Singapore Telecom Gets Loans of S$1.075 Billion (Update1)
By Chen Shiyin
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest phone company, obtained loans of about S$1.075 billion ($711 million) from banks in Singapore and Australia to refinance debt and for working capital.
The company agreed to a five-year, S$350 million credit facility with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore Telecom said today. Sydney-based unit SingTel Optus Pty agreed to a separate A$725 million ($479 million) facility with five banks, the company known as SingTel said.
The Singapore-based operator is seeking financing at a time when the worldwide financial crisis has slashed available funds and led to writedowns and credit losses of $959 billion among the world's largest financial companies. SingTel, part of a group building a S$3 billion Internet network in Singapore, has S$2.7 billion of debt due in the next 12 months.
``We are pleased with the support demonstrated by our bankers in Australia and Singapore and their confidence in the SingTel group,'' Chief Financial Officer Jeann Low said in a statement.
The Optus loan will be arranged by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citibank NA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp., SingTel said.
The SingTel facility will mature in November 2013 and the Optus loan in April 2012, according to the statement.
Cash, Debt
SingTel had cash and equivalents of S$1.09 billion and net debt of S$7.1 billion as of Sept. 30, based on its latest earnings report.
Moody's Investors Services rates SingTel Aa2, the third highest of 10 investment grades, and Optus Aa3 rating, the operator said. The company and Optus have an A+ rating from Standard & Poor's, the fifth highest of 10 investment levels.
SingTel gained 1.7 percent to S$2.42 in Singapore trading yesterday. The shares have dropped 40 percent this year, compared with a 49 percent retreat in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
Optus leads the Terria group, which plans to submit a bid on Nov. 26 to build a A$15 billion high-speed Internet network in Australia.
In Singapore, SingTel, Axia NetMedia Corp., Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. and Singapore Power on Sept. 26 won the bid to build Singapore's fastest Internet infrastructure. The group said it will spend as much as S$3 billion on the network, including S$1 billion for construction, scheduled to begin in 2009.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at [email protected].
Last Updated: November 13, 2008 20:03 EST
By Chen Shiyin
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest phone company, obtained loans of about S$1.075 billion ($711 million) from banks in Singapore and Australia to refinance debt and for working capital.
The company agreed to a five-year, S$350 million credit facility with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore Telecom said today. Sydney-based unit SingTel Optus Pty agreed to a separate A$725 million ($479 million) facility with five banks, the company known as SingTel said.
The Singapore-based operator is seeking financing at a time when the worldwide financial crisis has slashed available funds and led to writedowns and credit losses of $959 billion among the world's largest financial companies. SingTel, part of a group building a S$3 billion Internet network in Singapore, has S$2.7 billion of debt due in the next 12 months.
``We are pleased with the support demonstrated by our bankers in Australia and Singapore and their confidence in the SingTel group,'' Chief Financial Officer Jeann Low said in a statement.
The Optus loan will be arranged by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citibank NA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp., SingTel said.
The SingTel facility will mature in November 2013 and the Optus loan in April 2012, according to the statement.
Cash, Debt
SingTel had cash and equivalents of S$1.09 billion and net debt of S$7.1 billion as of Sept. 30, based on its latest earnings report.
Moody's Investors Services rates SingTel Aa2, the third highest of 10 investment grades, and Optus Aa3 rating, the operator said. The company and Optus have an A+ rating from Standard & Poor's, the fifth highest of 10 investment levels.
SingTel gained 1.7 percent to S$2.42 in Singapore trading yesterday. The shares have dropped 40 percent this year, compared with a 49 percent retreat in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
Optus leads the Terria group, which plans to submit a bid on Nov. 26 to build a A$15 billion high-speed Internet network in Australia.
In Singapore, SingTel, Axia NetMedia Corp., Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. and Singapore Power on Sept. 26 won the bid to build Singapore's fastest Internet infrastructure. The group said it will spend as much as S$3 billion on the network, including S$1 billion for construction, scheduled to begin in 2009.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at [email protected].
Last Updated: November 13, 2008 20:03 EST
