'Indian firms could raise $15 bn overseas'

JPMorgan expects Indian companies to raise as much as$14.5 billion next year by issuing overseas bonds, a senior executive at the investment bank said. The majority of this could be used for refinaneing existing debt, and some for financing acquisitions.

- Shayan Ghosh & Subhana Shaikh

“A lot of foreign capital was raised in 2021, and given that five years is the typical tenure for external commercial borrowings (ECBs), everything which was raised in that year for five years is maturing in 2026,” Anjan Agarwal, India head of debt capital markets, JPMorgan, said in an interview. According to the bank's internal research, debt of $9 billion matures in 2026.

Indian companies have raised ₹32,825.54 crore ($3.8 billion) so far in 2025, against ₹68,727.23 crore ($8.2 billion) in all of 2024, data from primedatabase.com showed. Some of the bigger borrowings were from Tata Capital (₹400 million in January), Mumbai International Airport Ltd (₹800 million in June), and Sammaan Capital (₹300 million in August).

“In addition, with the strong balance sheet that we see across the spectrum of Indian companies, we witness a stronger theme among the Indian companies to evaluate overseas acquisitionsto either get access to newer markets or expand their capabilities,” said Agarwal, adding this will further result in financing mergers and acquisitions, and subsequently drive up global bond deals.