NaBFID plans to lend Rs 150 bn to infra projects this quarter

The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), the newest development finance institution (DFI) to start lending last month, expects to advance Rs 150 billion to infrastructure projects this quarter, CEO Rajkiran Rai said. The lender commenced operations by lending Rs 5.20 bllion along with a consortium of financial institutions to fund the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel in December. Rai said the company already has a loan pipeline of Rs 500 billion, which it expects to increase next fiscal. With the appointment of IDBI Bank’s J Samuel Joseph last month, NaBFID now has all three deputy managing directors (DMDs) in place. Joseph will be in charge of lending and project finance for the financial institution. Former Union Bank of India executives Monika Kalia and BS Venkatesha have already taken over as the chief financial officer and chief risk officer, respectively. The majority of the company's borrowings will be in the form of bonds. NaBFID plans to raise Rs 50 to Rs 100 billion by issuing five-year bonds for the first time within the next few months. However, going forward, the company plans to issue longer tenure bonds mostly in the 20-25 years maturity bracket because of focus on financing long gestation infrastructure projects. Also Read PMC announces Rs 530 mn tender for 24x7 water project in Mhalunge Ajmera Realty records sales of INR 6.94 billion from April to December