RIL borrows $2 billion to purchase equipment

Mumbai:Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India’s biggest company by market value, borrowed $2 billion (around Rs 10,700 crore today) to fund purchases of equipment and services from Germany, part of a plan to expand its petrochemicals business.

The 13-year loan, backed by the world’s largest trade-credit insurer Euler Hermes SA, was signed with nine banks, including Citibank NA, Commerzbank AG and Banco Santander SA, Mumbai-based RIL said on Wednesday in an emailed statement.

The company’s Rs 70,250 crore of cash and equivalents as of March surpassed its Rs 68,260 crore debt, according to a 20 April statement.

RIL, owner of the world’s largest oil refining complex, is planning a $8 billion petrochemicals expansion as it bets Indian demand for materials used to make plastics and polyester will help counter weak global fuel sales. The proposed spending will be the highest since RIL completed its second oil refinery in 2008.

Shares of the company, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, fell for the sixth day on Wednesday, declining 1.9% to Rs 695.10 on BSE.