RBI hikes repo rate, growth comes second to price stability

The Reserve Bank of India's credit policy announcements met expectations, except of those people who thought today will signal the end of the rate hike juggernaut. The few who feared the RBI may hike the repo rate by 50 basis points were off the mark, however. The majority were expecting a 25 basis point hike, which is what the central bank has done.

Subbarao is RBI governor till 2013

Speculation that the government may want a more pliant governor at the helm of the central bank proved to be bunkum. The government announced that D Subbarao would be the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, for two more years, providing continuity on the monetary policy front. He will now retire as the RBI governor on September 4, 2013.

ICICI Bank raises $1 billion in foreign currency bonds

ICICI Bank has issued foreign currency notes with a face value of $1 billion or about Rs 4,500 crore. This has been sold through the bank’s Dubai branch. The five and a half year tenure bonds will carry a coupon rate of 4.75%. They were issued at a price of 99.665% of the face value, which translates to a spread of 251.5 basis points over the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (Libor).

SBI’s hikes base rate 75 bps, short term deposit rates to soar

State-owned banking giant State Bank of India yesterday announced a sharp hike in lending and fixed deposit rates effective May 12. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India acted to contain inflation, which stubbornly remained higher than its targeted range (even after being revised repeatedly). The central bank hiked the repo and reverse repo rates by 50 basis points and hiked the interest rates on savings bank balances to 4% from 3.5%.

IDFC allots Rs 757 crore tax-saving infrastructure bonds

Infrastructure Development Finance Company had sought to raise funds from investors for funding infrastructure projects through a second bonds issue. The government has permitted infrastructure finance companies to raise funds, from investors, for funding long term infrastructure projects. These bonds will be eligible for a tax exemption of Rs 20,000 from the taxable income, under section 80ccf of the Income Tax Act.
 

Reliance Mediaworks redeems Rs 130 crore FCCBs

Reliance Mediaworks, an entertainment and media company, announced the redemption of about €21 million or Rs 130 crore worth of foreign currency convertible bonds. It said that of the total FCCBs of €84 million issued in 2006, a total of about €63 million were converted into equity shares. The remaining debentures were redeemed on January 25, at a premium of 122%, that is it would have repaid a sum of about Rs 160 crore these debenture holders.

Wockhardt to issue additional preference shares

Pharmaceutical company Wockhardt Ltd is seeking shareholder approval through a postal ballot process to continue to restructure its debt, in according with a corporate debt restructuring package. The company had suffered sizeable derivative-related losses when the global financial crisis hit companies. It also had substantial debt taken for overseas acquisitions.

Food inflation soars, at 15.6%

The intertwining of agriculture and politics has usually meant that farmers and the consumers, especially those at the margin, suffer from government action or inaction. Food prices have been rising for a long period, at least a year, and show no signs of abating.
Today, the government announced the wholesale price index data (WPI) for the week ended November 14.
 

ICICI Bank raises $750mn through overseas bond offering

ICICI Bank has raised funds from its Bahrain branch, picking up about $750mn or about Rs 3,490 crore through a fixed rate note issue. The notes will carry a fixed rate of 5.5% which is 293 basis points over the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor). According to the bank, the issue got a good acceptance with bids of over $3bn. The bank has not mentioned any specific reason for raising these funds.
 

Cairn India raises $1.6bn debt

Cairn India, an oil exploration company, announced that it has raised $1.6bn of loans, or about Rs 7,500 crore, for its Rajasthan oil project. The debt is split between $750mn of foreign debt and $850mn of domestic debt. Standard Chartered Bank and International Finance Corporation have funded the foreign component to the tune of $500mn and $250mn respectively. The $850mn domestic debt has been underwritten by the State Bank of India. This would be a syndicated debt arrangement, it appears.

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