International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has increased an outstanding Maharaja bond to raise an additional Rs.1.8 billion ($27 million) for infrastructure investment in India, a release by IFC said.
This marks the first time a non-government issuer reissues debt securities in the domestic rupee markets, the release noted.
IFC Maharaja bonds are issued under a $2.5-billion program. The bonds are listed on the National Stock Exchange of India. Proceeds of the bonds are invested to support the country’s infrastructure development.
In September 2014 IFC issued the first Maharaja bonds, setting an international triple-A benchmark for the country’s domestic capital markets. The bonds raised Rs.6 billion ($100 million) from international and domestic institutional investors.
In order to attract different types of investors, the bonds offered four tranches with different maturities: a five-year bullet bond of 1.5 billion rupees ($25 million), a 10-year bullet bond of 1.5 billion rupees, and two separately tradeable redeemable principal part (STRPPs) tranches of 3 billion rupees ($50 million), with maturities ranging from 13 to 20 years.
At the time, two domestic investors agreed to purchase, over a pre-agreed period of time, up to 2040 million rupees of the STRPPs, with tenors raining from 13 to 18 years. This unique structure enables IFC to match the timing of its rupee bond issuances with its funding needs for infrastructure projects, the release added.
