India Inc mops up $22 bn via syndicate loans so far this year

Global meltdown seems to have had no impact on India Inc's fund raising as corporates, led by Tata Motors's 3 billion dollar credit for JLR, have mobilised 22.3 billion dollars in loans so far this year, up by 18 per cent from the same period last year, said Dealogic.

"Syndicated lending to Indian borrowers has bucked global trends by going up by 18 per cent compared to the credit in the same period in 2007," global consultancy firm Dealogic said. India Inc through five deals has garnered 22.3 billion dollar against 18.9 billion dollar in the year-ago period, it added.

"Tata Motors' USD 3 billion facility to finance the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover is the largest Indian loan so far in 2008, and is the third largest Indian loan on record," Dealogic added.

However, Reliance Power's 2.5 billion dollar facility announced last week to fund a coal-fired power plant is India's largest rupee-denominated loan on record. The Anil Ambani group firm, which hit the capital market early this year, has raised USD 3 billion through the largest ever IPO in India.

The average loan size in India grew by 63 per cent to USD 406 million during 2008 from USD 248 million last year. In the first half of 2008, corporates had mobilised 21.9 billion dollars, a 60 per cent increase the same period in 2007.

The boom in the power sector in the country was well reflected in the borrowing data with the utility and energy sector accounting for 22 per of Indian loans this year.

Domestic financing major SBI Capital Markets topped the chart of book runners, with 51 per cent market share mobilising 20 deals so far.