Exim bank. Photo: Company website
Export and Import Bank of India (India EXIM Bank) is looking to raise an additional $750-1,000 million in the balance part of FY24 for commercial lending and country credit lines. These plans follow the $1 billion raised by the country’s largest lender State Bank of India in January and HDFC Bank’s $750 million offerings in February.
The liquidity is comfortable in the international market, and the conditions are better for Indian entities than a few months ago in terms of raising resources, Harsha Bangari, Managing Director, India EXIM Bank told Business Standard.
The government-owned export credit institution has raised $1.5 billion until December 2023 in the current financial year through various instruments. This includes $750 million it mopped up in the third quarter of the current financial year through a loan using the External Commercial Borrowing route.
In early January, the country’s largest bank, SBI, mobilised $1.0 billion through a syndicated loan to cater to the domestic ESG financing market. The funds were raised through two tenures: a three-year and a five-year loan. Early this month, the country’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, raised $750 million through overseas offerings. This includes $300 million mobilised through the maiden three-year Sustainable Finance Bond Issue. Another $450 million has been raised for a tenure of 5 years.
Bangari said the lender has the option to float bonds or enter into loan agreements, depending on market conditions. The outlook for the interest rate was for the softening of rates. The actual amounts raised would depend on the rate scenario with the intent to get low-cost funds.
During FY 2022-23, India EXIM Bank raised foreign currency resources aggregating US$ 3.47 billion equivalent, through a variety of instruments. In January 2023, the Bank successfully issued a 10-year Sustainability Bond of US$ 1 billion under its Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Framework.
The Bank also raised funds through bilateral loans from banks and private placement of bonds. It mobilised a $100 million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, along with three Japanese private financial institutions, for the purpose of supporting the Indian healthcare sector related to COVID-19, according to the annual report for FY23.
First Published: Feb 11 2024 | 7:25 PM IST
