PCCW-HKT Telephone, Hong Kong's dominant telecommunications service provider, has increased to HK$10.15 billion a loan it is arranging after attracting strong interest from banks.
Separately, Sino-French Water Development, a joint venture between New World Development and Europe's fourth-largest utility company, Suez, plans to borrow HK$1.4 billion to refinance existing debt, market sources said.
PCCW originally sought HK$8 billion.
A total of 16 banks, including HSBC, BNP Paribas and Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, are providing funds for the six-year loan, which PCCW is arranging on its own.
Typically, one lending bank will co-ordinate with other banks and the borrower for a fee, but companies can choose to arrange loans themselves to save on costs.
The loan, which will be used to refinance existing debt and for general working capital, will be signed in one week at the latest.
The loan has been arranged as a club financing, meaning all banks will contribute the same amount. That contrasts with a syndicated loan, in which banks that provide the largest amounts - thus taking on the most risk - earn higher fees.
