NaBFID eyes Rs 1 lakh crore fundraise, to tap overseas markets for up to 40%

The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) is targeting fundraising of around Rs 1 lakh crore in the current financial year and will raise around 30–40% from overseas markets as it looks to take advantage of the special concessional swap window announced by the Reserve Bank of India.

“From this year onwards, our budget is such that 30–40% of our annual borrowings will come from overseas markets because we are now looking at borrowing around Rs 1 lakh crore,” Rajkiran Rai G., managing director of NaBFID, told Business Today.

With large-scale infrastructure development under way across the country, demand for funding such projects is increasing. NaBFID itself is targeting a loan book of Rs 5 lakh crore by 2029–30.

“We regularly raise money from the domestic bond market, bank credit lines and other sources. But the RBI window is available right now, so we will make the best use of it until December,” Rai said.

The Reserve Bank, in June, announced a special window to attract foreign currency deposits and shore up forex reserves. While the special window for FCNR(B) deposits was closed at the end of August following robust inflows, the window for entities to raise overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCB) and external commercial borrowings (ECB) will remain open until the end of December 2026.

Rai sees a long runway for infrastructure funding, with emerging areas including ports, shipbuilding, airports, multimodal logistics, high-speed corridors and warehousing.

Urban infrastructure development is another major opportunity. However, Rai noted that not many municipal bodies are equipped to borrow from capital markets, and that governance and capacity issues remain.

Earlier in the day, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey also pointed to the need to further expand the municipal bond market, given the enormous amount of capital needed for urban development.

The next phase will require continued focus on municipal creditworthiness, governance disclosures and predictable project cash flows, he said.

NaBFID is working with around 100 urban local bodies in an advisory capacity, Rai said.

Rai also stressed the need to bridge long-term infrastructure funding gaps and attract greater participation from long-term investors such as insurance companies and pension funds.

He pointed out that, in the initial years while a project is being developed, banks are best placed to assess and underwrite the risk. However, once the project is completed in two to three years, long-term investors need to step in.

“Commercial banks are not equipped to provide long-term funding because their liabilities typically have tenures of one to three years. This can result in asset-liability mismatches. That is where long-term investors come in. Insurance companies and pension funds need investments with tenures of 30–40 years, and that is where we have to bridge the gaps,” Rai said.