PFC plans $200m ECB

NEW DELHI, MAY 5. The State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) today said that it was planning to mobilise up to $200 million from the overseas market as part of its resource mobilisation programme for the year 2000-01.

``We have got quotations from various bankers for mopping up between $150 and $200 million through external commercial borrowings (ECB) route and would move with a firm proposal for Government approval within this month end," chairman and managing director of PFC, Mr. Uddesh Kohli, told reporters here.

The corporation is likely to go for roadshows during June for mobilising the amount on a fixed rate of interest on a repayment schedule of 10 years, Mr. Kohli said.

Announcing a 15 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs. 622 crores in 1999-2000, Mr. Kohli said PFC had estimated a total resource mobilisation of Rs. 2,200 crores during 2000-01 but no split between the domestic and international fund mobilisation plan had been worked out.

``We would borrow money depending upon the domestic as well as the international market conditions and in case we get a good offer from the international market then majority of the fund would be mobilised from there," he said.

The corporation had during 1999-2000 targeted a resource mobilisation of Rs. 2,000 crores out of which it mopped up $100 million from the ECB market, he said. the corporation is looking for long term money from the U.S market and in case the company goes for this ECB at a fixed rate of interest, it could also swap the interest rate to floating rates depending upon the market conditions, Mr. Kohli said.

The corporation had during 1999-2000 sanctioned Rs. 6,492 crores while disbursements were only to the tune of Rs. 3,405 crores, he said adding that slow rate of disbursements were mainly due to private sector making a slow progress on achieving financial closure.

Till date the corporation had sanctioned loans and guarantees to 19 private power projects amounting to Rs. 3,979 crores totaling a capacity of 5073 MW, he said. Mr. Kohli said multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank had recently approved a grant of $1 million to support reform-related studies in some states and had also in-principally committed to PFC for a line of credit of $250 million.

With regard to domestic borrowings during 1999-2000, he said the company raised Rs. 1,333 crores out of which Rs. 608 crores was through unsecured bonds and Rs. 725 crores from term loans from commercial banks and financial institutions. The corporation had also sanctioned Rs. 11 crore of grants to state power utilities for 16 reform/restructuring, renovation and modernisation studies and distribution management systems, he said.

- PTI

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