Two Indian private sector lenders have tapped U.S. dollar denominated debt market for the second time in less than two months, to raise $300 million each, two merchant bankers said on Friday.
Here are a few details of the issues:
* ICICI Bank will issue five-year bonds at a coupon of 5.3520%, payable semi-annually
* Axis Bank will raise these funds through reissue of its 5.3480% June 2031 bonds, which will take the outstanding issuance to $600 million
* Both the debt placements will close for subscription next week and will be placed privately
* Last month, ICICI Bank raised $1 billion through five-year bonds at a coupon of 5.46%, in what was the largest such issue by an Indian lender in nearly 14 years
* In June, Axis Bank had raised $800 million through a dual-tranche debt issuance, which included the primary sale of the five-year papers and $500 million of perpetual notes at a 6.875% annual coupon, payable semi-annually
* The notes will be listed on the India International Exchange IFSC and NSE IFSC
* The bonds are being issued under the Reserve Bank of India's lower-cost hedging facility that allows eligible external commercial borrowings by banks and state-owned companies to be hedged at a fixed rate of 1.5% per annum, compounded semi-annually, and lowers overall cost of borrowing.
