Reliance Jio to finance 5G rollout with $2.2 bn funding from Swedish export credit agency

Telecom major Reliance Jio has reportedly received a $2.2 billion fund support from the Swedish export credit agency to finance equipment for the 5G rollout. According to the annual report of Reliance Industries, the telco has largely procured gears from Swedish company Ericsson and Finnish company Nokia to deploy its 5G network.

'RJIL tied up its first ever Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) supported facilities of USD 2.2 billion equivalent making it the largest cover ever provided by EKN for a deal to a private corporate globally. The proceeds of the facilities shall be utilised to finance the equipment and services in relation to RJIL's pan-India 5G roll-out,' Reliance Industries Limited said in its annual report.

Globally, the telecom gear shipment has declined. However, Reliance Jio’s 5G rollout in India has been able to balance the dip in business of Ericsson and Nokia.

Jio claims to have around 80 per cent share in total 5G base stations rolled out across the country by March 2023 and providing 5G service with an average download speed of 300 megabit per second.

In about 6.2 lakh rural villages Jio is now providing wireless broadband services.

The digital service provider firm added over 70,000 employees during the financial year 2022-23, as per the report.