New Delhi: State-owned non-banking finance firm REC Ltd said on Saturday that it has raised USD 750 million (about Rs 6,138 crore) through the issuance of green bonds. The net proceeds from the issue of the bonds will be applied to finance, in whole or in part, the eligible green projects in accordance with the approvals granted by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and in accordance with the ECB guidelines, according to a statement.

"REC Ltd has successfully raised USD 750 million through 5-year 144A/ RegS green bonds under its global medium-term programme of USD 7 billion," the statement said.

Issue marks REC's return to the capital market since 2021

As a frequent issuer in the market and given the relatively stable market backdrop last week, REC decided to capitalise on the environment to carry out an intra-day execution post extensive investor roadshows spanning two weeks in different geographies covering Singapore, the UK, and the US, it stated.

The issue marks REC's return to the capital market since 2021, with the last 144A transaction in 2020, this being REC's 10th venture into the international bond market, said the statement.

Largest-ever senior USD tranche by NBFC

"It is the largest-ever senior USD tranche by an Indian NBFC (non-banking finance company). It is also the largest-ever senior green bond tranche by a South & South-East Asian issuer," said the statement.

In this issue, the pricing risk of benchmark yield was mitigated by the company with the first-ever USD treasury lock transaction. There was an over-subscription of approximately 3.5 times from 161 investors with active participation from quality accounts.

Investors from across globe participated in issue

REC said that investors from across the globe participated in the issue with Asia Pacific (APAC) at 42 percent, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) at 26 percent, and the US at 32 percent.

The green bond has tenure of five years with a maturity date of April 11, 2028. Barclays, DBS Bank, MUFG, Standard Chartered Bank and State Bank of India, London Branch were the joint book-runners for the issue.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)