South Asia

India’s largest telecommunications service provider Vodafone Idea has received the green light from its board to raise Rp250bn ($3.51bn) from a rights issue.

The Reserve Bank of India’s recent relaxation of rules governing offshore fundraising is set to give a fillip to dollar loan volumes from the country, bankers told GlobalCapital Asia this week.

Srei Infrastructure Finance has mothballed a plan to float its subsidiary Srei Equipment Finance as risk-off sentiment drives valuations down in India’s IPO market.

The Reserve Bank of India’s recent reforms to its external commercial borrowings (ECB) policy make for a simpler and looser process for firms raising debt offshore. But the central bank has also put up new roadblocks for issuers that could drastically affect their access to capital markets.

Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) took advantage of the new guidelines from India’s central bank to roll out a three year bond, opting for a maturity it was previously blocked from tapping.

Non-bank lender Kogta Financial and Northern Arc Capital have sold the first Indian dual recourse bond secured on auto loan receivables.

Indian bond issuers have started 2019 with a bang, enjoying the benefits of an optimistic dollar debt market. But with a national election looming — and with no guarantees that credit markets will not take a turn for the worse — it will be far from plain sailing. Morgan Davis reports.

Mauritius Commercial Bank is looking for a syndicated loan, in a rare deal to pass across London desks so far this month that is not a refinancing exercise.

Dollar bond issuance in Asia appears to have got off to a strong start, with a rally both in the primary and secondary markets. But that is not enough for many DCM bankers in the region, who are hoping for a bigger upside.

Indian and Indonesian dollar bonds were buoyed last week by positive investor sentiment that drove secondary market trading and paved the way for fresh debt issuance.

A rally in the debt market and Indian Oil Corp’s (IOC) scarcity value buoyed the company’s return to dollar bond investors for the first time since 2013, allowing it to add a chunky $900m to its coffers.

IPO-hopefuls Metropolis Healthcare and Polycab India, a wire and cable manufacturer, are set to begin pre-marketing this month, according to a source close to the deals.