Budget 2019: India plans to raise $10 bn from first overseas sovereign bond

Sovereign bonds in India rallied on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech that the government would borrow in foreign currency to finance the budget deficit

India plans to raise as much as $10 billion from its first overseas sovereign bond because there’s huge appetite for its debt in the foreign market, according to a top finance ministry official.

"It’s a cautious beginning, which we need to make," Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg said in an interview on Saturday. "In terms of risk management I don’t see it exceeding 10-15% of the total borrowing, which makes it roughly about $10 billion."

Sovereign bonds in India rallied on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech that the government would borrow in foreign currency to finance