MANILA - Globe Telecom, the Philippines' second-largest phone firm, said on Monday it will spend $500 million to upgrade its network next year and may tap more loans to partly fund its financing needs.

Its capital expenditure this year would reach roughly the same amount, a company executive said.

The company, owned by local conglomerate Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., has spent around $400 million in the first 9 months of the year, mainly for a second fibre-optic network backbone that runs from the Philippines' main Luzon island in the north to Mindanao in the south.

"Our previous guidance was $400 to $450 million. We will likely close towards $500 million this year," Delfin Gonzalez, Globe chief finance officer, told reporters regarding the company's spending budget.

"We are looking at the same amount next year," he said.

Gonzalez said Globe would use proceeds from $125 million worth of loans to finance its capex for the rest of the year, with a portion likely to fund some of its 2010 spending.

"I think, probably, we need just a little more," he said. "We're looking at maybe just bank loans for the short term to cover any funding gap between now and the end of next year."

Last week, Globe reported its third-quarter net income climbed 12.3% from a year ago, lower than the 49% jump in quarterly profit at its rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country's largest phone firm.

PLDT had said it received a boost from its investments in power retailer Manila Electric Co.