IFC Raises $100 Million to Fund

Infrastructure Projects in India

International Finance Corp. Raises $100 Million For
Infrastructure Projects By Issuing Rupee Bonds
Sept. 23, 2014 6:49 a.m. ET
MUMBAIInternational Finance Corp., the private financing arm of the World Bank Group, said
on Tuesday that it has raised 6 billion rupees, or $100 million, through its first rupee bond issue to
help boost infrastructure development in India.
The bondsIFC Maharaja bondsmark the first time in a decade that any international financial
institution has issued rupee-denominated paper.
The last rupee bond issue by an international agency was in 2004 when the Asian Development Bank
raised 5 billion rupees.
IFC said the bonds will have maturities ranging between five and 20 years and will be listed on the
National Stock Exchange.
The fundraising is part of its broader plan to raise $2.5 billion through rupee denominated bonds and
swaps over the next five years.
"These bonds will provide support to infrastructure projects such as building roads, power plants and
ports," Serge Devieux, regional director of South Asia at IFC, said at a conference.
India needs to spend billions of dollars on infrastructure projects, which have been progressing at a
slow pace due to lack of adequate financing. Banks usually aren't eager to lend as these projects often
take several years to complete, sometimes as long as 25 years. The country's shallow bond markets
add to the fundraising problems.
However, India's new government, which came to power on the promise of boosting a weak
economy, has been trying to speed up infrastructure development to facilitate growth.
Recently, Japan and China pledged to invest $55 billion to help India improve its infrastructure and
boost manufacturing capabilities.