Photo: BloombergMumbai/Singapore: Indian companies are finding it easier to raise funds through bonds than bank loans, as a surge in bad credit chokes off bank lending while investors seek higher-yielding investments for their cash. The country has seen a record number of corporate bond issues this year, including from lower-rated and first-time issuers, partly as a result of troubles in the banking sector. Other first-time issuers include Nirchem Cement, Tanot Wind Power, Oriental Nagpur Betul Highway, Hindustan Oil Ventures—a welcome development for regulators who have long sought to develop the corporate bond market. Reliance Industries Ltd raised Rs17,500 crore ($2.7 billion) from the domestic debt market in the last three months. Corporate bond issuance climbed to a record Rs5.52 trillion during January-September, 19% higher than a year ago, according to Prime Database.

Source: Mint November 16, 2017 09:11 UTC