Jio raising $3.89b for tower unit spinoff:

The fiber network unit Reliance Jio Infocomm is reportedly planning to raise around 270 billion rupees ($3.89 billion) in syndicated loans to help expand the newly created infrastructure business.

Jio Digital Fiber plans to use the proceeds to expand its business and allow it to serve external customers from the telecom, ISP, power and other sectors.

Reliance Jio is spinning off its fiber business as well as its tower business into standalone subsidiaries in an attempt to monetize the assets. The tower business is being spun out into Reliance Jio Infratel.

Reliance Jio received approval for the demerger plan from the National Company Law Tribunal last month.

Meanwhile Reliance Jio has reportedly also crossed the 300 million subscriber mark after just two and a half years in operation, putting it close to second-placed rival Bharti Airtel, which has around 340.3 million customers.

According to Indian media, it took Airtel 19 years to pass the 300 million subscriber mark. If Reliance Jio continues its trajectory, it will knock former market leader Airtel into third place. The 2018 merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular created the current market leader Vodafone Idea, which has over 400 million customers.