Reliance executes India Inc’s biggest Samurai loan: Why Japanese investors are betting on RIL

Reliance Industries has executed the largest-ever Samurai loan raised by an Indian corporate, underscoring growing confidence among Japanese lenders in the conglomerate’s financial strength, diversified business model and expanding clean energy ambitions.

The Mukesh Ambani-led company raised JPY 91.9 billion, or nearly $625 million, through the Samurai loan transaction during FY26, making it not only the biggest such deal by an Indian corporate but also the third-largest Samurai loan ever raised by an Asian corporate. The transaction saw participation from 10 Japanese and Taiwanese banks.

The deal comes at a time when Reliance is increasingly positioning itself as one of the most globally financed Indian companies, with access to multiple international funding markets even amid volatile global conditions.

A Samurai loan is a Japanese Yen-denominated, cross-border syndicated loan issued by a non-Japanese borrower in the Japanese loan market. It allows foreign corporations and financial institutions to access Japanese capital, diversify their funding sources, and achieve lower borrowing costs compared to US dollar alternatives.

S&P Global Ratings

In December 2025, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Reliance Industries’ international debt rating from BBB+ to A-, citing stronger earnings stability and rising contribution from less cyclical consumer-facing businesses such as telecom and retail.

The upgrade is significant because Reliance’s rating now stands two notches above India’s sovereign rating, improving the company’s ability to access overseas capital pools at lower borrowing costs and tighter credit spreads. Moody’s also maintains a Baa2 rating on Reliance, while domestic agencies including CRISIL, CARE, ICRA and India Ratings continue to assign AAA (Stable) ratings.

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Analysts say Japanese investors are increasingly attracted to Reliance because of its scale, diversified earnings profile and aggressive expansion into future-focused sectors such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Apart from the Samurai loan, Reliance also secured around $600 million equivalent financing backed by Japan’s export credit agency NEXI to support its solar photovoltaic and battery gigafactory projects. The company said this marked NEXI’s first untied financing facility for any corporate globally and carried one of the longest average tenors for export credit agency-backed financing worldwide.

Reliance additionally raised approximately $500 million equivalent through KSURE-backed facilities from the Korean export credit agency, another first-of-its-kind global financing structure.

These financing milestones came during a difficult global borrowing environment. FY26 witnessed heightened market volatility driven by tariff uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, RBI policy actions and the rupee’s sharp depreciation toward 95 against the US dollar.

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Long-tenor financing across currencies

Despite these pressures, Reliance managed to raise long-tenor financing across currencies and funding products at competitive costs, reflecting strong lender confidence in the group’s balance sheet and cash flow visibility.

The company’s debt management metrics also improved significantly during the year. Reliance’s Interest Coverage Ratio rose from 5.59 in FY25 to 8.83 in FY26, while its Debt Service Coverage Ratio more than doubled from 2.06 to 4.03. Return on Capital Employed improved sharply from 14.6% to 20.7%.

As of March 31, 2026, Reliance’s gross debt stood at ₹3,74,421 crore, while net debt was ₹1,24,717 crore. The company maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41:1, indicating relatively stable leverage despite its large-scale expansion plans.

Shares of Reliance Industries were trading at Rs 1,352.00, down by 0.32 %.

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