Globe Telecom has signed a seven-year PHP 7 billion ($158 million) term loan with the Philippine National Bank that will partly finance its capital expenditure programme, three quarters of which will go towards data-related projects designed to cope with increasing demand for data and internet services.

These include investments in its Tattoo LTE network, as well as more broadly deepening mobile capacity and coverage for 3G and HSPA+, the company said in a statement.

Globe said capex for 2015 will be around $650 million, the balance of which will be invested in new platforms and business support systems “in line with product innovations, store deployment and other corporate requirements.”

Last month, Globe said its data roaming customers increased by 40 per cent in 2014 and the operator also reported strong gains in profit and revenue.