(Bloomberg) -- India is preparing to list about 600 million pounds ($746 million) of so-called masala bonds in London as it seeks to fund expansion of its energy and transport infrastructure.
Four bonds -- denominated in rupees, but sold overseas -- will be issued by the state-backed Indian Railway Finance Corp., Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. and National Highways Authority of India by the end of January, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Monday in an e-mailed statement.
The announcement is a bright spot in May's three-day visit to India, during which she's already clashed with her counterpart, Narendra Modi, over British visas for Indian students. May is trying to show the U.K. is “open for business,” even as she prepares to extricate the country from its four-decade membership of the European Union. Her office said the renewable energy and energy-efficiency bond issues also highlight London's growth as a center for green financing.
“This is another vote of confidence in our world-leading financial services and further proof that Britain is open for business,” May said in the statement. “This government will continue to work closely with both India and our financial services sector to ensure our growing rupee bond market continues to help finance India's ambitious infrastructure investment plans.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net, Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas, Shelley Smith
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