NHAI targets ₹62,000 cr for highway building

The NHAI has decided to generate ₹62,000-crore during the current fiscal to fund construction of roads and highways across the country. The agency will raise up to ₹4,000 crore through sale of masala bonds as part of its debt raising plan. It has generated ₹3,000 crore though masala bonds last fiscal. The NHAI has already raised ₹29,000 crore in the current fiscal — from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), National Small Saving Fund (NSSF) and State Bank of India (SBI) — at an average coupon rate of around 8% and its Board is likely to finalize the proposal for masala bonds issuance in its next meeting. Plans are afoot to launch the road show to woo investors in the US and the UK soon after the meet. Masala bonds are rupee-denominated bonds sold in offshore capital markets. NHAI’s first-ever masala bond issued last year had received overwhelming response from a wide range of investors. The initial benchmarked issue of ₹1,500 crore was upsized to ₹3,000 crore at a price yielding 7.30% annually. Asian investors had contributed 60% of the subscription and the balance 40% came from Europe. Further, 61% of the amount came from the fund managers or insurance firms and 39% from the banks, it said in an official statement.