GTL Infra to spend $450-600 mn annually next 3 yrs
Telecommunication infrastructure company GTL Infrastructure Ltd <GTLI.BO> plans to spend $450-600 million annually for the next three years in setting up telecom towers, a senior official said on Tuesday.
By PTI |
MUMBAI:Telecommunication infrastructure company GTL Infrastructure Ltd
By the end of 2010/11 thecompany expects to spend close to $1.8 billion, the official, who did not wishto be named, told Reuters on the sidelines of an investor conference.
The funds required havealready been tied up through a rights issue, overseas convertible bonds,warrants and a line of credit from a consortium of 15 banks, the official said.So far this fiscal year, the company has spent around $500 million, he added.
"This spend is besides what weare looking to invest in inorganic growth opportunities," he said. Recently, GTLInfra tied up with IDFC Project Equity Co Ltd to form a special purpose vehicleto pursue acquisitions in the telecoms tower space. "We are looking atacquisition opportunities or picking up a stake in tower firms which the serviceproviders are de-merging, but only if the valuation is right," the officialsaid. The company has a target to set up 25,000 towers across the country inthree years.
This year itexpects to end up with 6,700 towers and then add 6,000-8,000 towers every year.Passive infrastructure such as telecom towers are cell sites that are essentialfor wireless communication. Companies such as GTL set up these towers and thenlease them out to telecom service providers on a shared basis.
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Sharing of towers brings downthe cost for the operators in terms of savings in capital and operationalexpenditure by 15-30 percent. Shares in GTL Infra ended 13 percent higher at82.50 rupees in the Mumbai market.Download
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