IRFC Raises $300 Million via Yen Loan from SMBC, Re-Enters ECB Market After 3 Years

The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) 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 loan is benchmarked to the Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (TONAR) and will be used to finance projects with backward or forward linkages to the railway sector, along with other infrastructure initiatives permitted under ECB norms. IRFC said this marks its first major overseas borrowing under its expanded mandate as it broadens its role in financing infrastructure across the Indian Railways ecosystem.