India’s goal on renewables to boost green bond sales overseas

By Anurag Joshi

India’s goal to more than double energy generation from renewable sources is fueling bets that debt offerings from green companies may grow.

Adani Green Energy kicked off a roadshow for a potential dollar bond as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the more ambitious plans. Indian alternative-energy firms have sold about $3.4 billion of foreign-currency notes in 2019, after none last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.


There is a dearth of Indian dollar green bonds and demand is rising for such notes, said AS Thiyaga Rajan, a senior managing director in Singapore at Aquarius Investment Advisors Pte.

Green issuers are supported by rising global appetite for Indian notes, which offer attractive yield. Foreign-currency note sales from the nation’s borrowers rose to a record $18.5 billion so far this year, and renewable companies Greenko Energy Holdings and ReNew Power have already tapped the market more than once.