RIL: RIL to raise Rs 20,000 crore via bonds

Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries plans raising up to ₹20,000 crore in its largest ever domestic bond sale this week, marking the biggest such domestic issuance by a non-BFSI private entity in India where regulators want companies to rely on market instruments to help establish a corporate bond market that reflects the breadth and stature of Asia’s No. 3 economy.

The sale of non-convertible debentures (NCD) will take place through the electronic book mechanism on the BSE’s bond platform on November 9 from 10:30-11:30 am, according to an information document accessed by ET. The issue has a base size of ₹10,000 crore and a green shoe option of ₹10,000 crore.

The bonds are of 10-year maturity and rated AAA with a stable outlook by Crisil and Care Ratings. The instruments are partly paid, secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures and are ranked equal to the existing or future secured loans or NCDs issued or to be issued by Reliance. If Reliance raises the entire amount of ₹20,000 crore through the issuance, it would mark the largest ever fund-raising through bonds by an Indian corporate beyond the traditional lending sector of banking and financial services.

Last year, HDFC had raised ₹25,000 crore through bonds as the housing financier looked to garner funds ahead of its merger with HDFC Bank.

RIL had last tapped the domestic debt markets in April 2020, a month after the national lockdown was imposed to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. Back then, Ambani- owned company had raised ₹2,795 crore through five-year bonds at a coupon rate of 7.40%. Listing out the end-uses of the proceeds from this week’s bond sale, Reliance’s information document said that up to 100% of the funds could be used for refinancing existing borrowings. Up to 50% of the proceeds could be used for ongoing capex while up to 50% of the funds could also be used for making investments in or lending to domestic subsidiaries where the shareholding of the parent company is more than 51%. Up to 25% of the funds raised could be used for any other purpose in the ordinary course of business.

Eligible investors for the bonds are all Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) and any non-QIB investors specifically mapped by Reliance on the BSE Bond EBP Platform.

The fund-raising plan comes at a time when Rel Jio, India’s top telco, has been rapidly expanding 5G networks and looking at countrywide coverage in a few months. Jio has launched 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) services that will ride on 5G network infrastructure.

(What’s moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds.)

Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

Top Trending Stocks: Sensex Today Live, SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price