IFC-HDFC unveils $ 800 mn low-cost housing fund

Injecting a major booster to affordable housing financing in India, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the country's largest mortgage lender HDFC to create an $800-million fund to finance construction of affordable houses across the country. To create this fund, IFC will pump in $200 million by subscribing to masala bonds, rupee-denominated instruments, issued by HDFC and to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. HDFC will contribute the remaining $600 million from its own resources. The first such fund in the country will support the PM’s vision of 'Housing for All' by 2022. Property developers can borrow from this fund if they build homes that qualify as affordable under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.