Exim Bank of India Raises US$ 500mn for 5.5 Year Tenor at a Coupon of 2.75% P.A

Export-Import Bank of India, India’s premier export finance institution, successfully launched a 5.5 year Reg S Bond issue of US$ 500 mn on February 4, 2015. The issue attracted subscription of around four times the issue size led by strong demand, from over 150 investors. 

The 5.5 year US$ 500 mn Eurodollar bond issue was priced at 155 basis points over US Treasuries (UST) at a fixed coupon of 2.75% p.a., cutting through the current secondary trading levels of similar bonds and achieving a pricing tighter than the Bank’s own US$ 500 mn Reg S bond issue in March 2014 for a 5.5 year tenor. The bond also has been issued at the tightest spread vs. UST amongst all Indian USD bond transactions since the financial crisis and achieved the lowest ever coupon by an Indian Financial Institution for a public USD bond. The issue attracted more than US$ 2 bn of book size from over 150 accounts. The allocation was made to 117 investors across the globe. Barclays, Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and book runners for the offering. Exim Bank of India has been rated as ‘BBB-’ by Standard and Poor’s and ‘Baa3’ by Moody’s, same as the rating of Government of India.

The offer received strong institutional response across various investors such as asset management companies, sovereign wealth funds, public banks and pension funds/ insurance companies. Over 52% of the issue was distributed to European investors, 36% to Asian investors and remainder primarily to offshore US investors. Mr. David Rasquinha, Deputy Managing Director of Exim Bank, commented, “We are pleased to see the robust demand for our transaction despite the market volatility. The response reflects the high level of interest in Indian paper, especially trusted names like Exim. The swiftness of the execution process was impressive and ensured a strong momentum. We were able to pick the optimal execution window and are very satisfied with the outcome. We are also happy to see participation from repeat investors being supplemented by new high quality investors."

Exim Bank aims to promote India’s international trade and investment. The Bank offers Indian companies a comprehensive range of products and services, supported by analysis and research, with a view to enhancing their international competitiveness. The Bank aggressively supports Indian exporting companies, especially medium-sized enterprises, in their globalisation efforts through a variety of lending programmes.