SBI raises Rs 10,00 crore via infrastructure bonds

Mumbai: The country’s biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has raised Rs 10,000 crore through 15-year infrastructure bonds at a coupon rate of 7.36 per cent that is payable annually.

The proceeds of the bonds will be utilised in enhancing long-term resources for funding infrastructure projects such as highways and power plants and affordable housing segments, the SBI said.

The issue attracted an overwhelming response from investors and was oversubscribed by around four times against the base issue size of Rs 5,000 crore, the SBI said in a regulatory filing.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara said that this issuance will help in developing a long-term bond curve and encourage other banks to issue bonds of longer tenor as well.

The proceeds from infrastructure bonds are exempt from regulatory reserve requirements such as Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio which means the entire amount can be given out as loans to earn interest.

With the Indian economy expanding at a rapid pace, there is a growing demand for funds to invest in infrastructure projects that have a long-term gestation lag.