Singapore-based internet satellite firm Kacific secures $160m financing

Singapore’s Kacific Broadband Satellites Group, a satellite operator providing internet for rural markets, announced it has secured US$160 million in long-term credit facilities from a group of financial institutions, including Asian Development Bank (ADB) and GuarantCo.

The deal allows Kacific to repay short-term loans used to fund the construction of its Kacific1 satellite and associated infrastructure and launch costs, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Kacific

Kacific, which was established in 2013, said the financing is underpinned by the “large number” of customers spanning 25 nations that have signed up to its service ahead of Kacific1’s operations early next year. The company’s first satellite particularly focuses on rural areas in the Pacific and larger island nations in Southeast Asia like Indonesia and the Philippines.

The financing from ADB includes a loan from the bank and a parallel loan provided by the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund, one of ADB’s co-financing vehicles. On the other hand, Private Infrastructure Development Group’s GuarantCo will provide a US$50 million partial credit guarantee to a private-sector European institutional investor.

“The support from GuarantCo, ADB, and private investors will be pivotal in providing the long-term certainty that will allow Kacific to transition seamlessly into operational mode, following the launch of Kacific1,” said Kacific co-founder and CEO Christian Patouraux.

According to the statement, Kacific’s high-power satellite uses multi-beam space communications and ground technology. It operates in the same space as Transcelestial, a Singapore-based startup that received over US$1.8 million in a seed funding round led by Wavemaker Partners and Seeds Capital late last year.