ICICI Bank raises $750 mn abroad

ICICI Bank, the largest private sector lender in the country, on Thursday said it has raised $750 million by selling bonds in the overseas markets.

This was the fourth foreign currency bond issue by an Indian lender in recent weeks after State Bank of India, Export-Import Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank.

The private lender’s 5.5-year fixed rate notes carry a coupon of 4.70 per cent. The notes were issued at 99.813 per cent of the book value of bonds, representing a spread of 364 basis points over Libor, bankers said.

RECENT OVERSEAS BOND ISSUES
Indian banks	$million
SBI	1,250
ICICI Bank	750.00
EXIM Bank	500.00
Indian Overseas Bank	500.00
Union Bank of India	350.00
Source: Banks

The bonds were sold by ICICI Bank’s Dubai branch. The issue was subscribed 7.6 times, with 312 investors showing interest.

Several Indian banks and companies have been waiting for an opportunity to raise funds from the international markets since April 2012.

The companies were waiting for better pricing and improvement in investors’ sentiment following the crisis in the Euro region.

“We will keep evaluating options and go for an issuance only if we think that we can protect our international net interest margin at about 1.5 per cent,” a senior official of ICICI Bank had told investors following the lender’s first quarter earnings in July 2012.

State-run lender Union Bank of India has also raised $350 million through overseas bond sale.

According to market participants, several institutions — including Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Grid Corporation — are looking to raise funds abroad.