IL&FS cuts borrowing costs on interest rate cuts

IL&FS Transportation Networks (533177.BOM), an Indian toll-road operator planning to issue a yuan-denominated “dim sum” bond to refinance a loan for a project in China, will cut borrowing costs by up to 40% due to a mismatch between rupee debt yields and interest rate cuts, Bloomberg reported. The firm is marketing about US$100 million worth of three-year bonds set at 5.75% in order to refinance existing loans for the Chongqing Yuhe freeway in China. Hong Kong-based dim sum bonds pay around 4.91% in yields, while three-year rupee bonds of non-bank Indian borrowers pay around 9.45%. Yields for Indian bonds have risen in recent months, pushing some of the country’s firms to raise money more cheaply elsewhere. “The company probably came to the Dim Sum market because of the lower borrowing costs as India’s yields are high due to inflation,” said James Su of SinoPac Asset Management (2890.TPE).