New Delhi: After raising Yen-denominated loans worth around ₹5,360 crore in the current fiscal, state-run Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) is looking at newer geographies for external commercial borrowing (ECB) including dollar-denominated loans.
HUDCO consistently eyes cost optimization, so raising funds at low rates via ECBs remains a low-cost funding option, CMD Sanjay Kulshrestha told reporters.
The company has so far raised Japanese Yen-denominated loans worth ₹5,360 crore for a tenor of five years at 5.54%, showed a presentation from the company.
The CMD of HUDCO, Sanjay Kulshrestha said that the company has negotiated fresh a ECB loan worth 80 billion Japanese Yen. The company is exploring various other geographies and looking at raising dollar and Euro denominated bonds.
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“Funds through dollar-denominated bonds may be raised by the third quarter of the upcoming fiscal. However, it would depend on whether the US Fed cuts rates,” Kulshrestha said.
He noted that the Navratna company has diversified its lending portfolio across the infrastructure space ranging from affordable housing, social infrastructure like hospital, government buildings, water infrastructure, to green energy, ports, highways among others.
On 16 March, HUDCO signed an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) for lending ₹11,000 crore towards the development of Amravati’s Greenfield Capital City and its infrastructure requirements. The government of Andhra Pradesh has so far notified an area of 8,352.69 square kilometre as Andhra Pradesh’s capital region and an area of 217.23 square kilometre as Amravati’s Greenfield Capital City.
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The cost of development for housing and infrastructure needs of the capital city is projected around ₹67,000 crore, said a statement from HUDCO. The project is divided into two phases – Phase I with a construction cost of ₹29,194.81 crore and Phase II with the remaining construction cost. Under Phase I, APCRDA has taken a loan of ₹11,000 crore from HUDCO and ₹13,500 crore from World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
The company eyes to increase its lending to ₹3 trillion by the end of this decade to meet an expected demand for affordable housing and infrastructure financing. Currently, its loan book stands at ₹1.18 trillion.
