Globe Telecom inks PHP2.5bn loan facility with Metrobank

Filipino telecoms operator Globe Telecom has signed a PHP2.5 billion (USD61.2 million) loan facility with the country’s largest bank, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co (Metrobank), to help fund its capital expenditure programme. Local press reports suggest that the five-year extension will help Globe participate in an international cable project being undertaken with the likes of VSNL International of India, which aims to link the Philippines to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Only last month the company’s chief finance officer, Delfin Gonzalez, confirmed Globe was looking to borrow between USD200 million and USD300 million to fund its capital expenditure spending of up to USD450 million in 2008, primarily on mobile and broadband capacity expansion. At the time it was understood the financing would be raised through a combination of peso and dollar-denominated loans.