Globe inks P3-B loan with China Bank

LISTED Globe Telecom Inc. has signed a P3billion loan facility with China Banking Corp. (China Bank).

In a disclosure on Monday, the Ayala- led telecommunications titan said “the loan shall be used to finance the company’s capital expenditures (capex) and [refinance]

maturing obligations, and [for] general corporate requirements.”

The company spent P10.7 billion in the first quarter, the bulk of which was allotted for datarelated requirements.

While its January- to- March spending was 22 percent higher than last year’s, Globe said its capex guidance for its network rollout would be lower by P2 billion than the first-quarter spending amid the community quarantine imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.

The disclosure comes after Globe announced that it would continue expanding its network despite the pandemic and build more cell towers starting in the third quarter.

In a separate statement, the firm said that beginning next month, cell sites would be built in Metro Manila, northern and southern Luzon, and Mindanao. Their number was not disclosed.

It also said subscribers in some areas would have temporary service disruptions, including signal or internet connectivity loss, that are seen to last least an hour.

“In order to complete the installations of the cell sites and towers, our customers and the public in general may experience temporary disruptions in their call, text and mobile data services,” said Joel Agustin, Globe senor vice president for the program development- network technical group.

“We would like to assure our customers that we will send out advisories days before the service disruptions happen, so that they can fully prepare when the time comes,” he added.

Globe shares decreased by P42 or 1.97 percent to close at P2,088 each on Monday.