Coal India eyes Singapore in hunt for critical assets

Mumbai-based HDFC Bank, India's leading private lender, is set to raise up to $1 billion in foreign debt through two bond issues, according to banking sources. This marks the second overseas fundraising effort for the bank in the past month as institutions rush to secure financing before a special central bank FX swap window closes on August 31.

The Mumbai bank intends to issue $500 million each through three-year and five-year bonds via its GIFT City branch, the sources said, declining to comment due to confidentiality protocols. "Investor interest has been secured, and final pricing for the issuance is expected by Friday," a banker noted. "Given this is the final round before August's end, a final amount exceeding $1 billion is not out of the question."

The Reserve Bank of India preemptively shut down a discounted swap facility for banks to hedge non-resident deposits last week. The central bank anticipates around $80 billion in inflows via subsidized swap facilities launched in June, Governor Sanjay Malhotra revealed to the Financial Express. HDFC Bank's peers ICICI Bank and IDFC First Bank have also tapped the dollar bond market, raising a combined total of $1.75 billion and $600 million respectively since the concessional hedging facility became available on June 5.