Mumbai-based SBI Funds Management, with USD800 million under management, is planning to pull the trigger on its first rupee interest-rate derivative next year. Sarvana Kumar, head of fixed income in Mumbai, said the fund manager is looking to enter an interest-rate swap to convert a portion of its USD500 million fixed-rate bond portfolio into floating. He declined to estimate how much of the portfolio it would convert. It is planning the move because it expects interest rates to rise, possibly by 50 to 100 basis points, next year.
The swaps will likely have five-year maturities and the manager will pay floating MIBOR and receive a fixed rate to create a synthetic floating-rate position, according to Kumar. He continued that the asset manager is currently speaking with a number of potential counterparties, including HSBC and Deutsche Bank. Counterparties will be selected primarily on the basis of price.
