S&P assigns BBB- rating for IRFC bond issue

Global rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) today assigned BBB- rating for proposed issue of Indian Railway Finance Corporation. IRFC has proposed to raise about $ 300 million through US dollar denominated bonds.

The rating on the notes reflects the long-term counterparty credit rating on IRFC, S&P said in a statement.

Indian companies have raised about $7.1 billion through dollar-denominated bonds so far this calendar year; during the same period last year they had raised about $9.2 billion.

Few banks including country’s largest lender State Bank of India had raised $ 1.25 billion recently through medium term notes (MTN) programme.  Country’s largest private lender ICICI Bank had also raised $750 million through MTN recently.