Indian bond issuers, including State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB), have temporarily halted their dollar fundraising efforts in international markets. This pause comes as investors demand higher yields, anticipating a surge in bond issuance from India. Recent deals have shown widening spreads over US Treasuries, prompting issuers to reassess the timing of their sales economictimes.indiatimes.com.
For example, HDFC Bank recently raised $750 million with five-year bonds priced at 90 basis points above the five-year US Treasury. In contrast, Power Finance Corp, a state-run entity, secured $300 million for its five-year bonds at 105 basis points over the five-year US Treasury, 15 basis points higher than HDFC Bank, despite raising less than half the amount. This indicates a growing divergence in pricing and reflects investors' demands for increased returns economictimes.indiatimes.com.
Unable to find information about ICICI Bank's plans for a benchmark dollar bond sale since 2017 in the provided search results. The available information on ICICI Bank pertains to a $300 million fixed-rate note issuance in 2017 and an executive's comments on the Indian bond market in 2026 sec.gov bloomberg.com.
As a result of the challenging bond market, some Indian entities, including development finance institutions like NABARD, SIDBI, and NaBFID, are exploring foreign-currency loans totaling $1.5 billion. NaBFID, for instance, plans to raise up to $1 billion through loans, finding this route faster and potentially within their target pricing range of 6.5% to 7% compared to bond issuance economictimes.indiatimes.com.
