BackFirms raised Rs37,800 cr in March quarter
Firms raised Rs37,800 cr in March quarter
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Mumbai: India Infrastructure Finance Co. and Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd led Indian companies’ bond sales to a record quarter as borrowers sought alternatives to scarce bank loans.
Companies raised Rs37,800 crore ($7.45 billion) in the three months to 31 March, 44% more than a year earlier and the most in a quarter since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1999. New Delhi-based India Infrastructure Finance raised Rs10,000 crore from two sales of 6.85% notes.
The optimism comes from the fact that loan rates are higher than bond rates, Anil Ladha, head of capital markets at ICICI Securities Ltd, said in a phone interview from Mumbai. To that extent, companies will continue to tap the bond markets.
Indian banks’ loans to companies and consumers are likely to miss the central bank’s target for the fiscal year as lenders tighten credit to avoid rising delinquencies after economic growth faltered. Credit to manufacturers and individuals rose 15% to Rs26.4 trillion in the period to 13 March from 28 March 2008, excluding advances made to state agencies for food procurement, according to Reserve Bank of India data.
—Bloomberg
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Suzlon may change terms of $500 mn debt
Mumbai: India’s biggest maker of wind turbine generators Suzlon Energy Ltd plans to change the terms of $500 million (Rs2,550 crore) of convertible bonds to reduce its liabilities.
The Ahmedabad-based company will offer holders of the debt new convertible bonds in return for the changes, Suzlon said in a statement to the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday, without specifying the proposed modifications.
Suzlon will also offer cash or a fee for the amendments.
—Bloomberg
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ICICI Bank buys back bonds worth $91 mn
Mumbai: India’s second largest bank, ICICI Bank Ltd bought back a total $91 million (Rs464.1 cr) worth of bonds maturing in 2012, according to a statement from the lender.
—Bloomberg
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India stocks upgraded by Goldman Sachs
Singapore: Indian stocks were upgraded at Goldman Sachs after valuations fell below regional levels in Asia. India was raised to market weight, the first upgrade since the brokerage rated it underweight in January 2008, when the benchmark index climbed to a record, Goldman Sachs analysts led by Kathy Matsui and Timothy Moe said.
Shares on the Bombay stock exchange sensitive index, or Sensex, trade at about 10 times reported earnings, below the MSCI Asia-Pacific excluding Japan Index’s 13 times. India’s gauge has dropped from a record 29 times in January 2008, when the region was at 15 times.
—Bloomberg
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