Reliance announces issuance of $5 Billion in foreign currency bonds to repay debt

Reliance Industries Ltd announced on Saturday that it will issue up to $5 billion in foreign currency-denominated bonds and utilise them to repay current debt. According to a stock exchange filing, the company's Finance Committee on Saturday, authorised a "proposal for issuance of senior unsecured US Dollar-denominated fixed-rate notes from time to time, for an aggregate amount up to USD 5 billion, in one or more tranches." 

“The proceeds from the issuance of the Notes will be utilised primarily for refinancing of existing borrowings, in accordance with the applicable law,” it added.

Reliance to raise $5 billion to repay loans

The bond issuance is expected to be the largest single borrowing by an Indian corporation. While the company did not divulge details on the bonds' timing or pricing, it is expected that the 10-year debt will be offered at a discount to the US Treasury benchmark of 110 to 130 basis points, and the 30-year debt will be offered at a discount to similar-maturity Treasuries of 130 to 140 basis points.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm has announced ambitious intentions to enter the new energy market while also rapidly growing its internet and retail businesses. On Friday, it announced that its subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) had inked definitive agreements to purchase Faradion, a UK-based sodium-ion battery technology business, for GBP 100 million.

With PTI Inputs

Image: PTI