South Asia

The New Development Bank has approved a $1bn emergency loan to India, to help the country contain the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

The Indian equity capital market needs all the help it can get amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The securities regulator has already loosened some rules, but it needs to go further and relax guidelines around one of issuers’ most preferred fundraising avenues — the qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is planning a jumbo rights issue of Rp531.2bn ($7.01bn).

India’s state-owned Bank of Baroda has won approval from its board of directors to raise up to Rp13.5bn ($1.77bn) in fresh capital.

Adani Electricity Mumbai has decided to close its debut offshore borrowing as a club deal with eight banks, bringing an end to long-running discussions about a possible syndication.

India’s equity capital markets have welcomed a temporary loosening of rules around IPOs and rights issues, with bankers saying it could help push out deals as soon as market conditions stabilise. Jonathan Breen reports.

India’s financial regulator has made a one-time relaxation of rules governing IPOs and rights issues in response to the coronavirus outbreak, which continues to keep the country’s population at home.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s board of directors will meet on Wednesday to determine the size and method for an equity capital fundraising plan that could be worth as much as $1bn.

Punjab & Sind Bank has won approval from its board of directors to raise up to Rp15bn ($195.2m) from an issue of fresh equity, according to a stock exchange filing.

The Carlyle Group has raised Rp7.6bn ($100m) after selling most of its stake in Indian diagnostic laboratory chain Metropolis Healthcare, according to a source close to the deal.

With emerging markets across the globe facing an overwhelming liquidity squeeze, the IMF said on Thursday that it would “look for solutions that can unlock critical financing” in countries where the unsustainability of debt prevented the fund from lending, potentially increasing funding options for the most stressed of countries.

Adani Transmission has raised a further $90m US private placement, according to market sources, after it became earlier this year the first Indian company to raise debt in the market since 2007.