Here are some more details:
* The Indian central bank had last month rolled out a discounted forex swap facility for external commercial borrowings by state-run companies to encourage dollar inflows as part of measures to strengthen India’s balance of payments. The facility allows firms to lock in FX hedges at below-market rates, encouraging them to raise overseas loans.
* The company raised the funds via a five-year long-term external commercial borrowing last week, CFO Anuj Jain told reporters after IOC’s June quarter results. He said the company would consider raising additional funds under the facility, which is open until the end of December.
* Indian Oil’s borrowings have surged by 200 billion rupees in April-June for selling fuels at below-market rates.
* The refiner has enough crude for 45 days, Chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said. He said IOC is prepared to buy oil from Saudi Arabia via a longer African route.
* The RBI has also rolled out a similar facility to offset the hedging costs for banks that raise three- to five-year deposits from non-resident Indians.