LIC Housing plans to raise up to Rs 1,000 cr via ECBs

LIC Housing Finance is mulling to raise Rs 700-1,000 crore through External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), said the company's Chief Executive Officer VK Sharma. Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) in the current fiscal to promote low-cost housing projects.

Sharma said a committee comprising senior officials of the company has been formed which is in touch with the apex bank on the ECB issue. The company expects that it will be in that segment which has been permitted by the RBI. LIC Housing expect to raise somewhere around Rs 700-1,000 crore and it will apply for that, Sharma said.

ECBs are considered attractive as cost of raising the loan overseas is lower than that of domestic borrowings. Besides, they provide an additional avenue to access large amount of funds from global financial markets.