India

Indian borrowers are increasingly raising offshore loans with tenors of five to seven years, in a bid to smooth out their maturity profiles and avoid a massive debt overhang. The shift comes at the right time, as international lenders slowly warm up to longer-dated deals, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Export-Import Bank of India priced a rare dollar Formosa bond from the country this week, bagging $400m. Cash-swamped dollar investors in Taiwan are desperate for diversification amid falling loan volumes, so the stage is set for borrowers to push for tighter pricing. Addison Gong reports.

India saw a burst of IPO filings this week, with state-owned insurers New India Assurance Co (NIA) and General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) lining up potential billion-dollar listings.

National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has become the second Indian company to seek long-term funding under the latest Reserve Bank of India guidelines — about five months after Power Finance Corp's similar, albeit unsuccessful, attempt. Given that precedent, NTPC will do well to keep its hopes in check.

India’s Cochin Shipyard, one of the few proxies to the defense sector, priced its Rp14.7bn ($230.6m) IPO at the top of expectations after demand trumped supply by an impressive 76.2 times.

Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management has added three bookrunners to the line-up of banks that will manage its IPO in India this year, boosting the syndicate to six.

Export-Import Bank of India took advantage of reverse enquiry from Taiwanese investors to sell its debut dollar Formosa bond, marking only the second Formosa from the south Asian country and the first from an Indian bank.

Indian telecommunications group Bharti Airtel has raised Rp25.7bn ($403.2m) after offloading a stake in its tower unit Bharti Infratel, selling the shares near the bottom of guidance.

State-owned reinsurance company General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) has submitted a draft IPO prospectus for a deal that could raise around Rp85bn ($1.3bn), said a banker on the mandate.

Indian company National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has approached banks with a request for proposals for a $150m facility with an average life of 10 years.

The logistics arm of Indian multinational automobile conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra has filed for approval for an IPO that could raise up to $150m, according to a source close to the deal.

India’s market regulator has asked listed companies to disclose any default on bank loans within one working day from the date of the missed payment, in a move to tackle the country’s bad loan problems.