Axis Bank raises Rs 5,705 crore via infra bond sale

To use proceeds to strengthen long-term resources for financing infra, affordable housing sectors

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private-sector lender, on Tuesday said it had raised Rs 5,705 crore by selling infrastructure bonds. The 10-year senior unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) were priced at 8.85 per cent a year, payable annually.

The NCDs have been rated AAA by CRISIL and ICRA. The bonds will be allotted to eligible investors on Friday.

The bank plans to use this money to strengthen its long-term resources for financing sectors like infrastructure and affordable housing.

“We are pleased to have received a very good response for the infrastructure bonds from domestic as well as foreign investors. This issue was launched immediately after our recent international bond offering and generated very good response from pension, provident funds, mutual funds, multilateral financial institutions, foreign financial institutions and insurance companies,” Sidharth Rath, president (treasury, business banking and capital markets), Axis Bank, said.

The bank claimed it was the single largest issue of unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures by a private issuer in recent times. Life Insurance Corporation and International Finance Corporation, Washington, were among its investors.

The issue was managed by the debt capital markets team of Axis Bank.