Softening rates spur Indian firms' overseas bond issuances

High demand, lower costs drive global fundraising surge

- SUBRATA PANDA & ANJALI KUMARI

With interest rates softening, lower hedging costs, and a growing appetite for high-yield paper, Indian companies are likely to step up activity in the overseas bond market in the coming months.

According to the Primedatabase data, there were 36 issues by Indian companies in the overseas bond market until September, resulting in ₹29,029 crore raised.

In FY24, Indian companies had 18 issues of ₹45,000 crore. In FY23, there were three, raising ₹15,592 crore.

“With the Federal Reserve (Fed) cutting rates, we can expect an increase in overseas bond issues. Companies are looking to diversify their borrowing sources to prevent upward pressure on spreads in the domestic market. Additionally, hedging costs offered by merchant bankers have become more affordable,” said Venkatakrishnan Srinivasan, founder and managing partner, Rockfort Fincap.