Fund Raising
Indian companies and non-bank lenders raised $2.92 billion through overseas loans in April, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday showed.
Of the total, over half, or $1.53 billion, were raised by six NBFCs for the purpose of on-lending and sub-lending. In April, Shriram Finance topped the overall chart with a total external commercial borrowing of $955 million across two loans. SMFG India Credit Company and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency raised $208 million and $180 million, respectively.
NTT Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure, Intas Pharmaceuticals, AM Green Ammonia (India), L&T Finance and InterGlobe Aviation were also among the 10 top borrowers in April.
Cheaper OptionIn FY25, external commercial borrowing inflows reached a record $61 billion, with NBFCs accounting for 43% of that, up from a share of between 20% and 37% over the preceding five years. ECB had emerged as a cheaper option for NBFCs as it helped lower the cost of funds as well as diversify their funding mix, experts said. Additionally, bank lending to NBFCs had come down because of the risk weights, pushing the top lenders to tap overseas markets. For FY25, bank lending to NBFCs rose 5.7%-almost half the 11% credit growth recorded by the banking sector.
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