Marginal impact on Indian firms

The decline of the dollar against the Japanese yen is unlikely to impact corporate India much as most yen loans are covered. Chief financial officers and forex experts said that 90 per cent of yen loans have been hedged.

Most borrowings are still in dollars though in the last two-three years, companies have borrowed in yen, attracted by lower interest rates and savings in withholding tax. Interest cost is 0.8 per cent lower on yen loans even with the cover.

''It won't affect corporates much as most loans are covered. But if they are not, corporates will take a mark-to-market hit when they value their liabilities at the year-end date,'' said Bharat Banka, CEO, private equity, Aditya Birla Group.

Companies may not have covered the interest payments on yen loans. Given that the rupee has also appreciated against the yen, the impact (about 0.12 basis points) would be too marginal to send alarm bells ringing, said forex experts.

The dollar fell below 100 yen earlier today for the first time since 1995 after a Carlyle fund moved closer to collapse, adding to turmoil in financial markets.