India infra lender targets $4bn in dollar funding by December, exec says

MUMBAI: India’s National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) is targeting a total dollar-fundraise of about $4 billion by December through loans and bonds under the Reserve Bank of India’s discounted hedging facility, its chief said on Thursday.

The state-run infrastructure financier aims to raise as much as $1 billion through its maiden bond issue with a 10-year maturity, NaBFID’s Managing Director Rajkiran Rai told Reuters, adding that the lender is assessing the market for favourable rates.

“We have completed the roadshows and are ready with the necessary things, and will aim to launch the bond issue before the end of September,” Rai said.

The infra lender has already raised $850 million through external commercial borrowing in August, and will raise another $2 billion through loans, which includes a 15-year facility with the World Bank.

Apart from the World Bank, NaBFID is also in talks with other multilateral agencies for funds, Rai said.

The institution had raised $125 million via a smaller dollar loan tranche in March, which was its debut borrowing in the offshore market.

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In June, the Reserve Bank of India allowed banks and state-run companies to raise funds overseas and access a subsidised hedging facility, lowering the cost of managing currency risk.

NaBFID aims to complete the fundraising exercise before the end of the calendar year, when the window for discounted swaps on these borrowings ends.

Locally, the institution aims to almost double its outstanding loan book to 2 trillion Indian rupees ($20.85 billion) by the end of this financial year, which in India runs through March-end, up from 1.15 trillion rupees at the end of March 2026.