Sbi Bags Mandate For $120 Million Ntpc Loan

The State Bank of India has bagged the mandate for National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) $120 million syndicated loan.

The 34-month facility will refinance an old loan taken in March 1999. NTPC will draw down the loan in September and there will be a bullet repayment in March 2004.

The documentation of the facility will, however, be completed by the end of this month as otherwise the cost of borrowing will go up for NTPC because of the withholding tax which will take effect from June.

The loan is priced at 53 basis points over a reference rate based on the swap rate of a comparative maturity. Since there is no swap rate available for two years and ten months (34 months), the lenders will take into consideration the two-year swap rate (4.5 per cent) and three-year swap rate (five per cent) to arrive at a benchmark rate. The loan will be priced at 53 basis points over this benchmark rate.

 

The loan NTPC is refinancing was taken at a fixed rate of 7.21 per cent for the financing of ongoing projects of the corporation.

NTPC has achieved a turnover of Rs 19,220 crore during 2000-01 compared with Rs 17,184 crore during 1999-00, registering an increase of 11.85 per cent. Net profit after tax rose from Rs 3,425 crore during 1999-00 to Rs 3,612 crore during 2000-01.

The paid-up capital and accumulated reserves of the company as on March 31, 2001, are Rs 7,813 crore and Rs 17,994 crore, respectively. NTPC's total investment as on March 31, 2001, is Rs. 35,968 crore.