India Inc.’s Foreign Borrowing Drops 45% To $2.42 Billion In January
Of the total borrowings during January, $2.27 billion was raised through the automatic route of the ECBs.
India Inc.’s external commercial borrowings fell 45 percent to $2.42 billion in January as compared to the year-ago period, Reserve Bank of India data showed.
Domestic firms had raised $5.4 billion from overseas sources during January 2018.
Of the total borrowings during the month, $2.27 billion was raised through the automatic route of the ECBs.
The remaining $150 million was taken through the approval route, as per central bank on ECBs for January 2019.
No money was raised through rupee denominated bonds during the month, both in 2019 and 2018.
Major borrowers, which tapped resources overseas via approval route, included Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. ($900 million), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ($500 million) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ($200 million).
All three oil marketing firms raised the money for their working capital requirement.
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. raised $228.55 million for power project and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. raised $35.50 million for lending.
Power Finance Corp was the only firm to raise $150 million for sub-lending purpose.