Jio Infocomm, the telecom unit of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, has raised around $2 billion or Rs 16,640 crore in one of the country’s biggest offshore loans in FY24. HSBC was the lead arranger of the transaction that will help fund the telco’s 5G gear purchases from Nokia. Finnish credit export agency Finnvera reportedly provided a cover of a similar sum to insure Jio’s 5G gear supplier Nokia and the telecom company’s global lenders from future risks.

This amount is also expected to reduce Jio’s overall 5G gear funding costs and it will make the lender and supplier more comfortable, The Economic Times reported citing people aware of the matter. “The deal was concluded recently after talks over the past couple of months with HSBC as lead arranger… the loan quantum is around $1.5-2 billion, and it is structured in a way that carries with it an implied rate of interest arrived over the tenure of the loan,” The Economic Times quoted one of the people aware of the matter as saying.

The development comes almost a month after Jio raised around $2 billion in offshore loans, with financial services company and lender BNP Paribas being the lead arranger of the transaction. This offshore loan would help fund the purchase of 5G network gear from Swedish networking and telecom company Ericsson.