Globe Telecom Inc., the country's second-largest telecommunications firm, said Thursday it signed a loan facility with Export Development Canada (EDC) to fund its capital expenditures.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said it has obtained a $50-million loan from EDC.

"Proceeds of the loan will be used to fund capital expenditure purchases from Nokia Siemens Networks," Globe said.

Globe, a joint venture of Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecom, has a spending budget of $350 million to $400 million for investments in wired and wireless broadband for residential consumers, network enhancements, and maintenance of its core 2G business this year.

Last year, the Ayala-led firm posted a net income of P11.3 billion against P13.3 billion in 2007.

It ended 2008 with a wireless subscriber base of 24.7 million, up 22 percent. The wireless business accounts for nearly 90 percent of the group's service revenue.