Finmin committee may raise ECB limit at Sept 15 meet

The high-level coordination committee (HLC) on commercial borrowings is likely to raise the overall limit of External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) from USD 30 billion currently at its meeting on September 15.

Hike in overall ECB limit, which was last increased in May, will help the corporates to borrow more funds from overseas markets.

"There is an HLC-ECB meeting on September 15. Industry representatives had asked for relaxation in ECBs. We will take up the issue," a senior Finance Ministry official said.

Industry leaders at a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on August 1 had demanded increase in the ECB limit to help them tide over the problems on account of rising interest rates at home.

The current high interest rate regime has made it very difficult for India Inc to borrow from banks, the industry leaders had pleaded with the government.

Borrowing costs for corporates have gone up substantially as a consequence of the Reserve Bank's hawkish monetary policy stance to tame stubbornly high inflation.

The RBI has raised short-term key interest rates eleven times since March, 2010.

In May this year, the government had raised the overall limit for such borrowings substantially to USD 30 billion from USD 20 billion.