NHAI eyes ₹5K cr via masala bonds, to list on LSE

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise up to $750 million (around ₹5,000 crore) through green masala bonds that will be listed on

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise up to $750 million (around ₹5,000 crore) through green masala bonds that will be listed on the London Stock Exchange soon.

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Housing finance major HDFC become the first Indian company to list masala bonds — denominated in Indian rupees — on t he London Stock Exchange when it raised Rs 3,000 crore last week.

“We plan to float what we say green masala bond in a month and aim to raise between $500-750 million in the first tranche,” NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra said on Wednesday after LSE CEO Nikhil Rathi called on him here.

Rathi was accompanied by LSE Asia head Jasmine Arora.

“Both LSE CEO and Asia head discussed listing of NHAI green masala bonds there and explained how HDFC has gained from listing masala bonds there with an annual yield of 8.33%,” Chandra said.

Masala bonds — the name is derived from the Hindi word for spice — are instruments through which Indian entities can raise funds in rupees by accessing overseas capital markets while the bond investors hold the currency risk.

NHAI needs to raise about ₹50,000 crore this year from the market to fund its projects.