Exim Bank Plans To Raise $3.5-4 Bn This Year: MD Harsha Bangari

Exim Bank MD Harsha Bangari said on Saturday that the export lender will look to raise USD 3.5 billion to USD 4 billion this year to fund its government supported business.

In a statement, Bangari said, “Our foreign currency resources are mainly used to fund policy business (issuing lines of credit through government). We are looking at raising USD 3.5 to USD 4 billion this year."

Exim Bank reported a two-fold jump in its FY23 net profit to Rs 1,556 crore in 2022-23 and said its operations have had minimal direct impact due to Russia-Ukraine war.

During FY23, the bank raised Rs 52,156 crore in aggregate resources, including foreign currency resources of USD 3.47 billion. This opened international markets for Indian issuers with a benchmark-sized sustainability bond of USD 1 billion in January 2023 under its ESG (environmental, social and governance) framework.

Exim is now looking for a loan book expansion in 12 to 15 per cent range in FY24, said Bangari.

In FY23, the policy bank supported 37 new contracts values over USD 1 billion. Exim also sanctioned seven LoCs, aggregating USD 670.32 million, to support exports of projects, goods and services from India.

In the last fiscal year, Exim Bank provided support to the tune of Rs 72,521 crore to Indian companies to augment their export capacity and boost export competitiveness under the commercial business. The bank also supported 75 project export contracts, valued at Rs 43,421 crore, under its commercial portfolio in 37 countries.

The bank’s lending grew by 15 per cent in 2022-23 and it is expecting to grow at the same rate in the current fiscal year.

In FY23, Exim Bank borrowed USD 3.47 billion from the markets in foreign currency and over Rs 52,000 crore in domestic currency, said Bangari.