State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday said it has
an external commercial borrowing (ECB) pipeline from corporates of up to $600 million.
"We have a pipeline of $500-600 million," SBI Managing Director (International Banking) Hemant Contractor said when asked about the pipeline from corporates for their ECB requirements.
The amount will get raised in the next three to four months, he added.
An external commercial borrowing (ECB) is an instrument used in India to facilitate access to foreign money by Indian corporations and public sector undertakings.
The country's largest lender raised $1 billion through an
international bond sale last week at a competitive coupon of 3.25 per cent and the money will be deployed to fund clients' overseas requirements, he said.
Due to the prevailing high interest rates in the country, many companies are planing to convert rupee loans into dollar debt to save on interest costs. Last week, Essar Steel said it was working on converting its rupee debt worth about Rs 20,000 crore into forex loans.
Domestic corporates are also raising forex debt to fund their overseas expansion as the domestic investment climate remains non-conducive.
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