Globe secures P3-billion loan

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom has secured a P3-billion loan from Union Bank of the Philippines to fund its ongoing expansion program.

Alberto De Larrazabal, head of treasury at Globe, said the money will be used for their capital expenditure requirements and other corporate expenses.

Globe has raised its capex budget for 2010 by $100 million to $500 million, nearly the same amount budgeted this year.

Globe earlier said it was planning to raise up to $105 million in additional borrowings to finance its capital expenditures.

The company, owned by local conglomerate Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, has spent around $400 million in the first nine months of the year mainly for a second fibre-optic network backbone that runs from the main Luzon island to Mindanao.

Globe said it expects to end the year with half a million subscribers for both its fixed and wireless broadband service due to increasing demand for Internet access.

From only 149,000 in end-June 2008, the company’s broadband subscriber base has more than doubled to 379,000 as of the end of the second quarter this year. This figure is expected to grow further due to healthy demand for wireless broadband offerings.

To cater to the growing demand for wireless broadband, the company is offering Globe Broadband Tatoo (a W-CDMA/HSDPA service offering high download speeds) and Globe Broadband Powered by WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access).

WiMax is a technology designed to enable the deployment of wireless broadband access as a cost efficient alternative to cable and DSL.

Globe has been expanding its wireless broadband network by aggressively investing on propagating broadband usage.