The Export Import Bank of India has raised $1 billion, about Rs 7,000 crore, through an overseas bond sale. The funds will be used for the bank's regular activities.
Exim Bank said it has raised the money at the lowest ever coupon for any Indian issuer. This is also the first time in nearly two years that an Indian company has raised $1 billion in a single tranche.
The bank has raised the money from 184 global investors by issuing 10-year bonds and expressed satisfaction with the final pricing, an official statement said. The money was raised at 1.50 percent over the U.S. Treasury rate as against a guidance of 1.75 percent on the back of an oversubscription. The total order book touched $2.7 billion.
The money will be utilised to support Indian project exports, overseas investment by way of long-term credit and lines of credit portfolio, it said.
The investors who subscribed to the bonds include Asians (44 percent), Americans (36 percent) and 20 percent from the Middle East.
David Rasquinha, managing director at Exim Bank of India, termed the overseas bond sale a "remarkable achievement" amid a weak market owing to geopolitical tensions, adding that the money was raised at the lowest coupon for a 10-year bond from any Indian issuer in U.S. dollar markets.
He exuded confidence that many other Indian issuers will follow suit to access the foreign currency bond market. Chief Financial Officer Harsha Bangari said this is also the first time that an Indian issuer has raised $1 billion in a single tranche since a transaction by Exim Bank in 2018.
"The quasi sovereign nature of the Bank and EMBIG (Emerging Market Bond Index Global) index eligibility of the bonds helped in the price tightening," she added.
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