MyRepublic’s CEO has rejected reports that the company is having difficulty raising funds required to make a bid to become Singapore’s fourth mobile operator, calling the claim “a bold-faced lie.”
Malcolm RodriguestoldThe Middle Ground that the company has already lined up $130 million worth of the $250 million in funding needed to roll out a network.
Rodrigues was responding to a report from Today Online stating that the company’s latest financial statement casts doubts onto whether the operator can afford to become a mobile operator.
The report alleged that it had received a copy of the unlisted operator’s balance sheet that shows that MyRepublic lost S$9.36 million ($6.96 million) in Singapore last year, and has so far raised no funds required for the rollout.
But Rodrigues denied this claim, asserting that the company has a loan facility for half the required amount, and expects DBS Group and Goldman Sachs to help the operator finish its fundraising for the mobile bid by the end of July.
MyRepublic will be competing against Consistel, through subsidiary OMGTel, which has reportedly lined up at least S400 million worth of the S$1 billion in funding it plans to commit if it wins the mobile license.