Public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the power sector leveraged Rs 8,000 crore from the debt market during April-July 2002 through bond issues and short-term loans. The PSUs had raised only Rs 6,700 crore during 2001-02.
A substantial part of it, raised at sub-PLR levels, will be used to retire high-cost debt. The power utilities have also finalised plans for raising another Rs 7,000 crore through loan arrangements with financial institutions during the current finacial year.
The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) mobilised Rs 1,545 crore through its capital gains exempt (under Section 54 EC) bond issue till the beginning of August, REC chairman and managing director Dhanen-dra Kumar said. REC had revised its borrowing target of Rs 3,000 crore for the current finacial year to Rs 3,500 crore, he added.
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The Power Finance Corpora-tion (PFC) raised Rs 1,310 crore through bonds and short-term loans at 8 per cent average interest rate, most of which will be used for pre-paying costly loans.
As against a target of Rs 4,000 crore for the fiscal, the corporation has tied up with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for a Rs 1,000 crore loan and is in talks with the Asian Development Bank for a Rs 7,500crore line of credit and with the German agency KfW for a Rs 3,000crore loan.
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had entered the markets with a Rs 300-crore bond issue. It was oversubscribed 14 times and the corporation received offers for Rs 4,705 crore.
The corporation has retained oversubscription of Rs 200 crore for the issue carrying a coupon rate of 8.05 per cent payable annually. It is also working on the modalities for a Rs 1,500-crore line of credit from LIC this fiscal.
The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has finalised modalities for drawing Rs 2,500 crore from LIC on a 17-year tenure at a coupon of 200 basis points over the 12-year government paper. The proceeds will be used for its capacity addition programme.
It is in talks with Deutsche Bank for a Rs 750crore line of credit, but has decided against drawing Rs 1,000 crore from ICICI Bank because of disagreements on interest rates.
PowerGrid Corporation raised Rs 1,060 crore from its taxable bonds issue at sub-PLR levels during the first four months of this financial year, of which Rs 250 crore would be used for retiring costly loans.
The transmission utility has also tied up an amount of Rs 1,067 crore from the World Bank, Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, ADB and KfW.