Bharti Airtel set to raise Rs 3,000 crore via CPs

Mumbai | Kolkata: Bharti Airtel is set to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore in short-term debt from the local money market, to make the initial payment to the government for the 5G airwaves it bought in the recently concluded auction, three people aware of the matter said.

The telecom operator is selling commercial papers (CPs) with maturities of up to 12 months, the people said. SBI Mutual Fund is said to have agreed to subscribe to more than Rs 1,000 crore of Airtel’s debt and the country’s largest fund house will likely opt for CPs maturing in February next year at 6.53%, they said.

The deadline to make the first instalment of spectrum payment is Wednesday.