State Bank of India raised $1 billion in the largest dollar-denominated syndicated loan this year from the nation, giving a boost to the lagging foreign-currency debt market.
The borrower opted not to exercise a greenshoe option to increase the five-year facility by as much as $250 million, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. SBI declined to comment.
Foreign-currency loans taken out by Indian issuers have declined 30 per cent to $3.2 billion so far in 2025 from the year-earlier period, and are running at a four-year low, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
But that trend could soon reverse, with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. currently in the market for a loan of as much as $3 billion. Non-banking finance companies, or so-called shadow banks, in particular, are increasingly tapping the dollar-denominated facilities amid stricter regulations onshore.
Shriram Finance Ltd., India’s biggest truck financier, is in talks with banks to raise as much as $250 million via a three-year loan, which would add to its record $2 billion of offshore borrowings raised in the current financial year ending March 31.
Bank of Baroda also obtained a $750 million term facility from eight lenders earlier this month.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
