Ifci Moves Pnb For Rs 800 Crore, May Roll Over Epf Loan

Armed with a government guarantee, cash-strapped IFCI Ltd has approached Punjab National Bank for a Rs 800 crore loan, including a Rs 500 crore foreign currency loan with a three year tenor. For the balance Rs 300 crore, the Delhi-headquartered institution has sought a seven-year tenor.

Following the guarantee, executives told Business Standard, IFCI would also place a fresh request for a roll-over of funds of Rs 150 crore of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation where it has been seeking a rollover after defaulting earlier this year.

Sources close to the negotiations said that PNB is yet to get back to IFCI on whether it would extend a loan to IFCI or not and will decide on the issue over the next few days.

While the foreign currency loan would be used to meet the $ 100 million floating rate note obligation arising later this month, the rupee loan is meant to meet repayments on account of some SLR bonds that are maturing over the next three months.

Earlier this week, the Centre cleared a Rs 800 crore guarantee to IFCI in response to a request for a cover for $ 300 million and Rs 677 crore for fresh borrowings to tide over its liquidity problems.

The Centre provided a guarantee for $ 100 million and Rs 300 crore as the first tranche of cover to the beleaguered FI. The institution has earlier received government guarantees for about Rs 2,900 crore.

Institutional sources said that over the next few days, IFCI proposes to approach other banks also in case loans from PNB are not forthcoming.

Incidentally, PNB was one of the banks that had refused to provide fresh loans or rollovers after IFCI chairman VP Singh held a meeting with several bank chiefs in the presence of officials from the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry a couple of months back.