Bharti Airtel rallies over 3 pc on bond issue reports; top Sensex gainer

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel Ltd rallied as much as 3.4 per cent in trade on Wednesday and was also the top gainer among the 30-share Sensex constituents on reports of series of bond issues in FY15.

Bharti Airtel is planning to raise a further around $2 billion through a series of bond issues in the next financial year starting April 1, ET reported quoting two people familiar with the matter, a move aimed at refinancing the telecom major's existing debt and lower finance costs.

At 10:40 a.m.; Bharti Airtel was trading 3.3 per cent higher at Rs 326.30. It hit a low of Rs 318.25 and a high of Rs 326.60 in trade today.

"The first in the series could be in May or June," one of the people told ET. The other person added that as and when parts of its debt keeps nearing maturity, the company will continue looking at cheaper debt options.

Bharti Airtel could again tap the dollar, euro or swiss francs markets for the upcoming bond issuances, the people said.

Bharti Airtel, India's largest and the world's fourth largest telco, is hoping to use funds raised in the coming fiscal year to further refinance debt which stood at $9.3 billion at December end, and thereby reducing its net finance costs.

The net debt fell from $10.7 billion at the end of 2012. The company reports its fourth quarter results on April 29, which will give a clearer idea of its latest debt position.