Power Grid Corp. of India: Main transmission utility seeking $2.1bn

Power Grid Corp. of India: Main transmission utility seeking .1bn

NEW DELHI — The state transmission utility Power Grid Corp. of India (PGCIL) aims to raise up to 140 billion rupees ($2.12 billion) from domestic and external sources from a bond issuance in the financial year beginning in April 2016.

     In a stock exchange filing on Sept. 17, the company said it has secured shareholder approval to raise the amount in up to eight tranches — with or without a green shoe option that allows the issuer to sell investors more shares than originally planned.

     Each tranche will be allotted bonds worth up to 20 billion rupees. Funds raised will be used for capital expenditure requirements and loans to wholly-owned projects.

     PGCIL is 58%-owned by the Indian government. At its annual general meeting on Sept. 15, a proposal was approved to raise the borrowing ceiling from 1.3 trillion to 1.5 trillion rupees.

     PGCIL has paid out dividends since 1993 and is India’s largest electric power transmission utility. A five-year plan ending in 2017 includes capital expenditure of 1.1 trillion rupees; of this, there will be 225 billion rupees spent in both the current and next fiscal year.

     In the quarter ending in June, PGCIL posted a 20% increase in standalone net profit at 13.66 billion rupees compared with 11.36 billion rupees for the same period in 2014.

Power Grid Corp. of India: Main transmission utility seeking .1bn