Srei Infra eyes $100 mn from Dutch entity

Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance is planning to raise $100 million through the secured external commercial borrowing (ECB) route from FMO, a private sector bilateral financial institution based in the Netherlands.

Spread over nine-years, with a three-year moratorium period, the debt would carry an interest rate of Libor-plus-450 basis points, said Hemant Kanoria, Srei’s chairman and managing director, at a press conference held in Kolkata on Monday. The funds will be used for long-term projects and equipment financing, he added.

For the fourth quarter of the financial year, Srei expects a total disbursal of Rs 1,200 crore, as against Rs 300 crore in the last quarter. Till December, the total business of the company was Rs 5,000 crore.

“Over the last few years, we have had a year-on-year growth of 30 per cent. However, this fiscal, there will be a slowdown in growth – at about 5-10 per cent,” said Kanoria.

In January, the government had permitted non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the infrastructure space to raise funds from multilateral, regional and government-owned development financial institutions after taking the required approvals.

As a result, Srei will seek the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval for the funding in the next few days.