HDFC raises $300 mn in debut sustainable bond for EV

13 Feb 2024 CW Team

HDFC Bank has successfully raised $300 million in its inaugural sustainable bond issuance, earmarking the proceeds for the financing of electric vehicles and green loans. The three-year bond, carrying a spread of 95 basis points over the US treasury, is part of a broader initiative to secure $750 million through Regulation S bonds.

The bank specified that the remaining $450 million has been acquired for a five-year term with a spread exceeding 108 basis points over the US Treasury. These bonds are set to be listed on the Indian International Stock Exchange (India NIX) within the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Arup Rakshit, the group head of treasury at HDFC, emphasised, "The funds raised through the sustainable finance bonds will be prioritised for lending towards electric vehicles, Small and Medium Enterprises, and affordable housing. We are strongly committed to building a green and social portfolio even as we continue adhering to the Bank?s risk philosophy."

HDFC Bank enlisted the support of Barclays, BofA Securities, JP Morgan, MUFG, and Standard Chartered Bank as joint global coordinators and lead managers for this initiative. Notably, the bank asserts that these represent the most competitive credit spreads achieved by an Indian issuer for a three-year sustainable bond and a five-year senior unsecured bond of comparable size within the US dollar Regulation S issuance.

This development follows HDFC's receipt of a $400 million loan from the International Finance Corporation in December 2022, aimed at enhancing climate-smart, affordable, and green housing initiatives in India. Additionally, HDFC subscribed to India's inaugural sovereign green bonds issue during the same year.

In a parallel effort, last August, ICICI Bank extended loans totalling $6.7 billion to support sustainability and renewable energy sectors, encompassing electric vehicles and green-certified real estate, for the fiscal year 2023.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..