JUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD. TO RAISE $2 BILLION IN FOREIGN CURRENCIES FOR EXPANSIONSIEMENS TO SPEND EUR 2B ON INVESTMENTS TO MEET GLOBAL DEMANDAs reported by persons familiar with the situation, Reliance Industries Ltd. is in talks with lenders about a foreign-currency loan of up to $2 billion to fund the continued expansion of its oil-to-telecoms business.The huge corporation, headed by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, intends to acquire the loan through India's specialised foreign commercial borrowing mechanism, the people said, declining to be identified because the conversations are private.According to one of the sources, the facility may have a maturity date of three to five years, and the revenues will be utilised for capital expenditures and to refinance another credit that matures in September.According to one of the sources, lenders involved in the conversations include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., and Standard Chartered Plc. Representatives for those institutions declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Reliance said they couldn't respond right away.Ambani is raising financing as he expands the telecoms and consumer-facing parts of an empire founded on crude-oil refining. After achieving net debt negative status in 2020, Reliance's expansion frenzy has been driven by substantial borrowings.Reliance has said it aims to invest $75 billion in renewable energy over 15 years and last year acquired the $3 billion streaming rights to the highly coveted Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The firm is also rolling out 5G network services across the South Asian nation, which is expected to cost $25 billion. Siemens will spend 2 billion ($2.16 billion) on a new global investment strategy, the German engineering and technology conglomerate announced on Thursday (Jun 15), as it prepares to satisfy rising demand caused by global stimulus packages.Siemens said in a statement that it will create new factories, research and development centres, and training facilities around the world to address issues raised by the COVID-19 epidemic and escalating geopolitical tensions.Siemens will invest 200 million in a new plant for its industrial automation division in Singapore as part of the investment programme, which will cover announcements made in 2023."Siemens is growing much faster than the market. "Today, we announce an investment strategy to drive future growth, innovation, and resilience," said Siemens CEO Roland Busch in a statement.Siemens will also increase its R&D spending by 500 million this year, the firm announced on Thursday. NEWSROOMJUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8
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