Unitech Wireless gets Rs 5,000 cr loan from SBI

Telecom firm Unitech Wireless today said it has secured a Rs 5,000 crore loan from State Bank of India (SBI) to fund its operations rollout in the country.

Unitech Wireless, a joint venture of Norway's Telenor Group and Indian real estate major Unitech, plans to commence services by the end of this year.

Unitech Wireless has tied-up a facility of Rs 5,000 crore with SBI and the facility, which includes bank guarantees and letter of credit, would help it to finance its operation roll-out in India, Unitech Wireless said in a statement.

The loan has been syndicated by SBI Capital Markets, it added.

"Unitech Wireless is in the midst of taking up an aggressive ramp-up to launch its telecom services in India by the end of this year. The company has already placed significant orders on partners and vendors for services and equipment in order to meet the targets we have set for launch," Unitech Wireless Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajiv Bawa said.

This is the first loan secured by the company, after Telenor Group injected Rs 6,120 crore to take up to 67.25 per cent equity in the company, it said.

The company had earlier secured a loan from a consortium of banks comprising Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India and Vijaya Bank, it added.

In order to reduce time-to-market, Unitech Wireless will outsource infrastructure and back-end services to partner organisations and has partnerships with companies like Wireless-TT Info Service, Quippo Telecom Infrastructure, Alcatel-Lucent, Wipro, Huawei Technologies India, Ericsson and Telcordia.