ADB raises Rs 300 cr via offshore rupee-linked bonds

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised Rs 300 crore, or $50 million, from its maiden issuance of offshore Indian rupee-linked bonds.

The bonds, denominated in Indian rupees but settled in US dollars, will have a coupon of 6.35 per cent and will mature on August 17, 2016.

The issuance is the first bond issued under the multi-lateral funding agency's $500 million offshore rupee-linked bond programme and aims to deepen India's capital markets, ADB said in a release on Tuesday.

"There is clear demand for bonds linked to the Indian economy, Asia's third largest, and the reception to ADB's inaugural rupee-linked bond is reflective of this," said Kazuki Fukunaga, ADB Deputy Treasurer.

ADB said 13 per cent of the bonds were placed in Asia; 42 per cent in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and 46 per cent in the Americas.

By investor type, 10 per cent of the bonds went to central banks, 39 per cent to banks, and 51 per cent to fund managers.

ADB is committed to supporting development and poverty reduction in India through financing private sector projects such as those related to infrastructure and the financial sector and developing India's capital markets, said Fukunaga.

India is ADB's fourth-largest shareholder and is its largest borrower, excluding co-financing. ADB plans to raise $12-13 billion from the bond markets in 2014.