The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) on Tuesday said it has re-entered the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) market after more than three years, signing a loan agreement with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s GIFT City branch to raise Japanese Yen – denominated funds equivalent to $300 million.
The five-year facility is benchmarked to the Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (TONAR) and will be utilised to finance projects with backward or forward linkages to the railway sector, or other projects approved under permissible ECB guidelines.
IRFC said the loan marks its first major overseas borrowing initiative under its expanded mandate, following its diversification move into broader infrastructure financing linked to the Indian Railways ecosystem.
IRFC Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Kumar Dubey said the company aims to diversify its resource base and optimise borrowing costs through renewed access to global capital markets.
“By tapping the External Commercial Borrowing market after more than three years, we are not only intending to reduce our weighted average borrowing cost but also reviving our presence in the international market which shall play a crucial role in further strengthening of the railway infrastructure that is vital for nation building,” Dubey stated.
The agreement was signed in the presence of IRFC’s Executive Director (Finance) Deepa Kotnis. The loan agreement was formally signed by IRFC Senior General Manager (Finance) , Rakhi Dua, and SMBC Executive Director, Manoj Kaushik, with senior members of IRFC’s ECB team also in attendance.