Reliance Jio gets $2.2 billion fund support from Swedish Export Credit agency to finance 5G roll-out

Telecom major Reliance Jio on Sunday said it has received $2.2 billion fund support from Swedish Export Credit agency to finance equipment for 5G roll-out.

The company has largely procured telecom gears from Swedish firm 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.

While there has been a decline in telecom gear shipment across major geographies, 5G roll-out in India led by Reliance Jio has been able to offset 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.

Jio said that it is now providing wireless broadband services in about 6.2 lakh rural villages.

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