Exim Bank raises $1 bn via overseas bond sale

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The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on January 7 said it has raised $1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) through an overseas bond sale which will be used for its regular activities. The bank said it has raised the money at the lowest ever coupon for any Indian issuer in history and added this is the first time in nearly two years that an Indian company has raised $1 billion in a single tranche.

It has raised the money from 184 global investors by issuing ten-year bonds and expressed satisfaction with the final pricing, an official statement said.

The money was raised at a pricing of 1.50 per cent over the US Treasury rate as against a guidance of 1.75 per cent on the back of an over-subscription, with the total order book touching $2.7 billion, it said.

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 per cent), Americans (36 per cent) and 20 per cent from the Middle East.

Bank's Managing Director David Rasquinha termed it a "remarkable achievement" amid a weak market owing to geopolitical tensions and added this is also the lowest coupon for a ten-year bond from any Indian issuer in $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.