BSNL Raises Rs. 8,500 Crore Via Sovereign Bonds To Clear Debt

BSNL has announced that it has raised Rs. 8,500 crore through the sovereign guarantee bonds. In fact, the government has also cleared the sovereign guarantee bonds as it will help the public sector utility in the revival procedure.

The telecom operator is likely to use this money to clear its debt and in expansion as it is planning to increase its market share against private telecom players.

"We opened the bond at 10.30 am and closed at 12 pm. The bond was subscribed over two times. We were able to get bids of over Rs. 17,170 crore, but we accepted only Rs. 8,500 crore as per the approved bond size," BSNL chairman and managing director PK Purwar said.

Top Investors Participated In Government-Guaranteed Bonds

BSNL saw participation from all top investors like ICICI Lombard, Punjab & National Bank, SBI Life Insurance. State Bank of India, ICICI Primary Dealership, National Pension Scheme, and Rural Postal Life Insurance.

The raising of government-guaranteed bonds comes only after the cabinet approves the revival package, including VRS, 4G spectrum allocation, and merger with MTNL.
"These bonds are planned to be listed on BSE soon and are to be used for Debt Re-financing and meeting the CAPEX requirement of BSNL," PK Purwar added.

BSNL To Revise Its 5G Policy

Meanwhile, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is planning to revise its 5G trial policy due to a rift between India and China. In addition, the company is planning to look at all applications by all technology vendors. The new development comes after the Department of Telecom has asked BSNL not to use ZTE and Huawei networks.

The operator said that the government will soon allocate the 4G network. Furthermore, the operator has identified 14 assets for monetization under the government revival plan. It said that the management has already approved the cost of 11 assets, which is close to Rs. 18,000 crore.