Latest news with #SaikatDas
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Business Standard
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Petronet seeks $1.4 bn loan to fund petrochemical plant, LNG terminal
By Saikat Das and Rakesh Sharma India's largest importer of natural gas Petronet LNG Ltd. is seeking a loan of at least 120 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) for a new petrochemical plant and an LNG terminal, according to people familiar with the matter. Local lenders including Axis Bank, State Bank of India and Union Bank of India are considering to join the facility, which is among the company's largest fundraising exercises, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The borrower is seeking bids from banks in groups or individually, they said, adding that SBI Capital Markets has been appointed as adviser for the deal. The facility for triple-A rated Petronet comes at a period of muted activity for India's loans space, where bank lending grew 9.5per cent as of June 27, the lowest growth rate since March 2022, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India. If the financing goes through, it would be one of the biggest local currency loans for the country this year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Spokespeople for Axis Bank, Petronet, SBI, SBI Capital Markets and Union Bank of India didn't immediately reply to emails from Bloomberg News seeking comment. Proceeds from the loan will partially fund the construction of a new petrochemical complex in Dahej, located in the southwest coast of Gujarat in India, the people said, adding that it will help diversify the company's earnings beyond the LNG space. The project is estimated to cost 206.85 billion rupees, according to the company's website. The New Delhi-based firm is also setting up a separate five million tons land-based LNG import terminal at Gopalpur, located on the east coast in Odisha. The latest loan could carry a tenor of more than 10 years, the people said. The pricing could be lower than SBI's one-month marginal cost of funds based lending rate of 7.95per cent currently, a benchmark gauge of local currency borrowings, two of the people said.
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Business Standard
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
GMR Airports plans record $579 mn rupee-bond sale to refinance debt
The New Delhi-based company is considering to raise the funds through a note due in 18-months to three years and will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt Bloomberg By Divya Patil and Saikat Das GMR Airports Ltd. is considering a ₹5,000 crore ($579 million) local-currency bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be a record rupee issuance for India's second-largest private airport operator. The New Delhi-based company is considering to raise the funds through a note due in 18-months to three years and will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The firm may aim to price the securities at about 10.5 per cent, the person said. The Economic Times earlier reported the company is looking to raise ₹5,700 crore. The company is planning to tap the market as a cumulative 100-basis-point reduction by the central bank this year brings down borrowing costs. The fundraising underscores growth prospects for India's aviation sector and comes at a time when GMR is looking to expand its footprint in the country. GMR, along with the country's largest airport operator Adani Airport Holdings Ltd., is expected to be among the top contenders as the government looks to privatize 11 airports. If the deal goes through, it will be GMR's largest-ever rupee offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has three local-currency bonds amounting to ₹5,000 crore maturing next year. Care Ratings last month upgraded GMR Airports' loans and bonds to A from BBB+ and expects the firm's business to be supported by favorable outlook for the airport sector. GMR's unit Delhi International Airport Ltd. is also planning to issue ₹1,000 crore worth of bonds, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Business Standard
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Air India seeks bank loan of about $200 mn for fleet of Boeing 777 planes
AI Fleet Services IFSC Ltd., a GIFT City-registered subsidiary of Air India, is the borrower of the loan, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters Bloomberg By Mihir Mishra and Saikat Das Air India is seeking a bank loan of about $200 million to purchase a fleet of Boeing 777 planes from a US-based aircraft leasing company, according to people familiar with the matter. AI Fleet Services IFSC Ltd., a GIFT City-registered subsidiary of Air India, is the borrower of the loan, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The group, which operates two airline brands — the full-service carrier Air India and the low-cost alternative Air India Express — purchases and leases aircraft via this entity. The talks for the fund-raising, which started earliler this year, had slowed after the crash of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad last month, the people said, but discussions have since revived and the deal's details could still change. The purchase of aircraft takes place as Air India struggles to expand its fleet due to supply chain constraints impacting deliveries and its ability to get planes from the open market. Since Tata Group took over Air India in January 2022, the airline has placed orders for 570 new aircraft with Airbus and Boeing in over three years. The company could expedite the deliveries of narrow body Boeing 737 Max jets by taking possession of 50 planes that were meant mainly for Chinese carriers. A representative for Air India declined to comment. Air India is currently operating the six Boeing 777 aircraft that it is seeking to buy, said some of the people. Some of the planes are between 11 and 13 years old and are mainly for the airline's India-US routes, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. Such purchases are to ensure that Air India has enough planes to operate with until the delivery of new aircraft takes place, the people said. The pricing of the proposed loan could be linked to the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate, they added.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mumbai to Boost Reputation as Financial Hub With $25 Billion Facelift
From torn-up roads to flooding in even the glitziest neighborhoods, Mumbai's infrastructure belies the city's status as a major financial capital. Officials are now looking to boost Mumbai's reputation with a multibillion-dollar facelift that will put the city on the same level of corporate respectability as Hong Kong or Tokyo. For inspiration, they're looking to the original design document outlining New York City's vision for expansion in the 19th century. Reimagining the city's public infrastructure, including roads, bridges and its sprawling sewage system is ambitious. Zoning and construction laws are famously complex here, Nic Querolo and Saikat Das write. Today on CityLab:
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India widens global investor access to $639 bn corporate credit market
The financial regulator for the special economic zone known as GIFT City has allowed global banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc to offer total return swaps for corporate bonds Bloomberg By Saikat Das, Subhadip Sircar and Bhaskar Dutta India has expanded the usage of a derivative product popular with foreign investors, according to people familiar with the matter, giving them wider access to the nation's $639 billion credit market. The financial regulator for the special economic zone known as GIFT City has allowed global banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc to offer total return swaps for corporate bonds, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The expansion of these swaps to corporate debt — in addition to government bonds — comes as India's credit market is booming. Indian companies have issued a record amount of local currency notes, while the high-yield private credit market is also growing. Construction conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group raised $3.4 billion this year in the country's biggest private credit deal. Total return swaps allow foreigners to get exposure to India without the need to open a domestic account. Under a swap, investors receive returns from an underlying asset without directly owning it, in exchange for fees to the other party. These instruments have become popular since the announcement of India's inclusion in global bond indexes, helping drive $22 billion of inflows into the nation's sovereign debt. While the approvals for the swaps are only for onshore rupee debt, there is also demand from banks to offer these derivatives for dollar bonds from companies in GIFT City, according to the International Financial Services Centres Authority. 'We will soon be floating a consultation paper in this regard,' K Rajaraman, chairman of the regulator said in an earlier interview.
