IIFCL plans $1 billion loan from overseas investors; in talks for $400 million ADB funding

MUMBAI: India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) is planning to borrow $1 billion from overseas investors, which could be its biggest foreign-currency loan, while also exploring a separate $400 million funding from the Asian Development Bank, an executive said.

The Indian company is the latest to ‌tap into the ⁠foreign ⁠lending market after the Reserve Bank of India introduced a series of measures to boost dollar inflows and support the rupee. The measures include allowing state-run firms and banks to raise foreign currency funds to hedge their forex exposure at a subsidised rate.

Also read: India taps World Bank, ADB for $2.5 billion infrastructure spend


The $1 ​billion loan will be for 15 years ⁠at an ‌interest rate of under 7%, and the ​company is ​talking to the Asian Development Bank for ⁠a separate 20-year loan of roughly $400 million, Palash ​Srivastava, IIFCL deputy managing director, told Reuters on ​Monday.

IIFL doubled the 15-year loan's size to $1 billion from an initial $500 million after the RBI's incentive, he added.

Reuters has previously reported that three Indian development finance institutions plan to raise at least $1.5 billion through foreign-currency bank loans under ‌the RBI facility.

Further, IIFCL is weighing a debut dollar bond of around $100 million by year-end, Srivastava ​said.

"The bond ​will likely be ⁠in the three- to five-year tenor," he added.

Dollar borrowings have picked up following the opening of the RBI's subsidised borrowing window.

Also read: India remains ADB's largest private sector market; lender eyes USD 1 bn direct support in 2026

HDFC Bank raised $750 million via a five-year bond, while Axis Bank priced $800 million through a dual-tranche dollar bond sale. State-run Power Finance Corp raised $300 million via dollar bonds.

State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda are also planning overseas fundraising.