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RIL approves $2 bn debt plan, hungry for more
The board of Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday approved the raising of $2 billion (Rs 9,000 crore) from foreign markets, reports Suman Layak.
The board of Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday approved the raising of $2 billion (Rs 9,000 crore) from foreign markets through either foreign currency convertible bonds, syndicated loans or floating bonds, with indications that it could be hungry for more funds from the capital market to feed expansion plans in the petroleum sector.
The company may have to look at ways to raise more funds soon to finance its investments in the D6 block of the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin and also pay for overseas acquisitions to build its assets.
Reliance said recently that it it plans to invest $5.2 billion in the D6 block, revising up a figure of $2.5 billion that it had announced earlier, after it doubled planned production figures under the project.
This apart, the company has also made a $2 billion offer for BP’s Belgian petrochemical plant, which has not yet been officially detailed. If that comes through, there would be a need to arrange for more finance with immediate effect, financial service industry officials say.
