Uninor for easing ECB norms

Citing banks reluctance to lend money to telecom sector, Uninor, on Wednesday said it was in dialogue with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and DoT to relax norms pertaining to external commercial borrowings (ECBs).

Currently, the government cap through the ECB route stands at $750 million and companies can raise this capital only for capex and spectrum purchase.

“We had several meetings with the government on ECB norms. The reason for this is that the banks are still reluctant to lend money to telecom sector. And if we don’t have access to capital, it’ll be difficult to pay up for spectrum allocation,” said Sigve Brekke, MD & Executive Director, Uninor, which is planning to participate in the upcoming 2G auction in November.

It may be mentioned that Uninor’s 22 licences were scrapped following the Supreme Court’s order in the 2G spectrum allocation case. Companies interested in buying spectrum through the auction will have to submit their application by October 19. The bidding for the airwaves is scheduled to start from Nov 12.