Hutchison to pay back £1.5 billion debt in British 3G unit

March 10, 2004

Hutchison Whampoa plans to repay bank loans of more than £1.5 billion owed by its British wireless network '3'. The company has begun talks with creditors to purchase the outstanding loans that are due next year. Hutchison plans to buy the loans directly from creditors instead of injecting funds into the venture for repayment.

Spokeswoman, Laura Cheung, said the group has a lot of cash in hand and is looking to use the funds more efficiently, adding that the UK loan is relatively expensive.

Hutchison had total cash and liquid investments of HK$165 billion (£11.5 billion) at the end of June.

The £1.5 billion loan is part of the £2.5 billion that 3UK borrowed in 2001 on a three-year agreement. It was extended last year by one year to March 2005.

Hutchison holds an 80% stake in 3UK after Dutch firm KPN pulled out of the 3G venture last year. The remaining 20% is held by the Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo, but reports suggest the company is close to selling its stake in 3UK.