Rajan may meet global banks on possible foreign debt sale

The meeting is a brainstorming session to assess the feasibility of such sales

The government plans to meet as many as eight banks as it weighs selling debt abroad to raise dollars and help steady the rupee, according to finance ministry officials. The meeting, which could be held as soon as Friday, is a brainstorming session to assess the feasibility of such sales, the officials said, asking not to be identified as the move is confidential.

Raghuram Rajan, the ministry's top adviser, will chair the gathering, and Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of America Corp will be among those present, the officials said. Any issuance of Indian sovereign dollar bonds for overseas investors would be the first in the nation's history, while the country has sold foreign-currency debt aimed at its citizens abroad only twice before, in 1998 and 2001.