India Inc raised $3.3 bn via ECB in May

Indian companies raised $3.37 billion (Rs 18,630 crore) through external commercial borrowing (ECB) in May, to fund modernisation, foreign acquisitions, import of capital goods and onward lending.

The comparable figure for April, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, was $2.73 billion. Of the total, $935 million was via automatic route. The other $2.43 billion was through the approval route, requiring case-by-case approval from RBI.

Reliance Industries Ltd contracted ECB worth $2 billion for importing capital goods. The loan tenure is 157 months. Under the approval route, Export-Import Bank of India and SREI Equipment Finance Ltd raised $100 million each. EXIM intends to deploy the money for onward lending. SREI would use the funds to import capital goods.

Air India, the ailing government-owned airline, raised $195 million to import capital goods. Man Industries raised $9.3 million to redeem Foreign Currency Convertible Debentures.