Axis Bank plans first dollar bonds since 2007

Axis Bank hired Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Standard Chartered to help sell its first dollar bonds in two years, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The banks will help Mumbai-based Axis meet bond investors in Singapore on October 26, Hong Kong on October 27 and London on October 28 ahead of a so-called benchmark size sale, said the person, who declined to be identified before a public announcement. Benchmark typically means at least $500 million. Axis Executive Director Srinivasan Vardharajan declined to comment on the bank’s funding plans.

Axis was the first private bank established after India’s government allowed such lenders to be formed in 1994, according to its website. It last sold dollar bonds in June 2007 when it raised $60 million from variable-rate notes due 2022.