The finance ministry yesterday further liberalised the guidelines for external commercial borrowings, with emphasis on infrastructure financing and prepayment of outstandings.
The ministry also laid down norms for the new ECB instrument _ credit enhancement schemes for structured obligations _ which allows foreign commercial banks to guarantee rupee borrowings of Indian corporates from domestic banks and financial institutions.
The guidelines, which came into effect immediately, are part of the ECB policy for 1999-2000. They are expected to boost infrastructure development and exports in the current fiscal.
Corporates which have foreign exchange earnings have been permitted to raise higher levels of ECBs. The earlier ceiling of $100 million has been doubled to $200 million. However, the minimum average maturity has been retained at three years for borrowings up to $20 million and five years for loans above that level.
Similarly, the ceilings under the long-term borrowings window, which is outside the annual ceiling, have been doubled.
