In yet another effort to give a fillip to road infrastructure across the country, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is on a four-day visit to london to convey to the investors the initiatives taken by the Modi Government in infrastructure and the opportunities available here to participate in India’s growth story.
Gadkari will also open the market for the london Stock Exchange (lSE) for trading on Thursday where NHAI will debut with its Masala bond issuance and for open trading in the days to come.
Gadkari is to document India’s infrastructure reforms and hard sell the growth story for ploughing in more investment. “lSE has invited Gadkari to address on the Government of India's initiatives in infrastructure and opportunities for investors to participate in India's growth story. The Minister will also open the market for the lSE for trading on May 11, 2017," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.
The Minister last month said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon raise Rs 5,000 crore through green masala bonds to be listed on the lSE. Masala bonds are a key initiative encouraged by the Government, the statement said, adding that they have been gaining traction among foreign investors.
"Until recently, the ability of Indian companies and other issuers to borrow from the overseas market was predominantly limited to foreign currencies, but masala bonds have finally taken off, giving Indian companies from various sectors the ability to access international capital markets and raise financing without taking on the attendant exchange rate risk," the statement said.
What Indian companies need to do now is to access the masala bond market to enhance its liquidity and give international investors the opportunity of exposure to the Indian rupee. It further said that given its strong linkages to the Indian Government and its strategically important role for the economy, the NHAI is uniquely placed to help attract the widest possible investors to the masala bond market and help develop it.
"Towards this objective, the NHAI has been conducting a global investor engagement exercise targeted at the world's largest supra nationals and sovereign wealth funds, global macro funds and international asset managers. This exercise is expected to culminate in london," the Statement said. Axis Bank, Nomura, SBI Capital and Standard Chartered, which have been hired to manage the bond issuance, are conducting the road shows.