SBI says roadshow for overseas bond sale from Monday

"We are launching the roadshow for a benchmark bond issue beginning next Monday. We will go for the fund raising at the earliest, depending on the market condition," managing director and group executive for international banking Hemant Contractor told PTI here this afternoon.

Refusing to give the issue size, he just said it will be a benchmark issue. A benchmark bond issue typically is above USD 500 million (about Rs 2780 crore).

Investment banking sources had told PTI last week that the issue size would be USD 1.5-2 billion (about Rs 8,340 crore to Rs 11,125 crore).

Last month, SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri had said the bank had been mandated by the board in 2010 to raise USD 10 billion from overseas over the next few years, and it has a headroom to raise nearly USD 7 billion more. Since 2010, SBI had raised nearly USD 4 billion.

Contractor also said the senior notes offering, which got a BBB- rating from Standard & Poor's, will be a dollar-denominated issue.

Towards the bond issue, the bank has short-listed six investment bankers--Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UBS-- Contractor said.

An i-banker said investor meetings will be held during the next week in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Frankfurt and Zurich.

Meanwhile, S&P's Ratings Services in a statement from Singapore said it has assigned the senior unsecured notes from SBI at 'BBB-' rating.

"The BBB- rating on the notes reflects the long-term counterparty credit rating on SBI. The proposed notes will constitute direct, unconditional, unsecured, and unsubordinated obligations of SBI," S&P said, adding the rating is subject to its review of the final issuance documentation. MORE