Globe Telecom seeks USD160.7m for refinancing and CAPEX

Ayala-led Globe Telecom is looking to secure PHP7 billion (USD160.7 million) in funding from Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) for the refinancing of maturing debt obligations and for 2011 capital expenditure projects. In a filing, the telco said it was looking to take advantage of the banks’ current low interest rates. Globe Telecom’s chief financial officer Albert De Larrazabal is quoted as saying: ‘We intend to use the BDO facility to fund our capital expenditure requirements this year and pre-pay up to PHP3 billion in loans that originally mature in 2012. The current low interest rate environment allows us to replace these loans with cheaper debt, generating savings for the company.’ In 2010 Globe’s total CAPEX reached around USD500 million. A similar amount is being planned for this year, says Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu.