Mumbai: IIFL Finance is testing the waters in the international market to raise funds, said people familiar with the matter. The move follows Shriram Finance raising $750 million at 6.625%. IIFL Finance is meeting with investors in Singapore and Hong Kong this week to assess interest in USD-denominated bonds and loans. Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC are handling IIFL’s roadshow.
“While IIFL is going to meet investors on a non-deal roadshow, they may look to raise US dollar funds in both bond and loan,” said a source. “Activity is picking up as global investors are showing interest in India credit after the Shriram Finance issue, which saw an order book of $3 billion for a $750 million issue and was priced within their guidance of 7%”
Spokespersons of Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC declined to comment while IIFL spokesperson did not respond.
Another NBFC Indiabulls Housing Finance met its existing FCCB investors sometime back on a non-deal roadshow.
However, there are no plans to raise dollar funds, said another source. Indiabulls has a rights issue planned on February 7, when it is looking to raise ‘3,693 crore.
The Mumbai-based retail-focussed non-banking financial company (NBFC) IIFL had fully repaid its maiden $400 million dollar bonds in April 2023 upon maturity, which it had raised $400 million through a medium-term note (MTN) program in February 2020.
NBFCs have been looking to diversify their borrowing profile. IIFL mostly borrows from NCDs and banks, which constitutes almost 80% of their ‘47,000 crore borrowing as of December 2023. IIFL’s quarterly average cost of borrowing increased by 28 basis points y-o-y.
