New Delhi : Leading housing finance company PNB Housing Finance Limited has raised $100 million from International Finance Corporation(IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to finance affordable house buyers. The investment was made under the central bank’s automatic route in the revamped external commercial borrowings framework.
“This is the first ECB disbursement during the current financial year under the RBI Automatic Route. Several other ECB proposals are in the pipeline. The fully-hedged facility has come at a landed cost that is much lower than the domestic pricing for similar tenures. Raising of ECB under the present market environment and that too from a multilateral financial institution like the IFC demonstrates the strength of PNB HFL and the faith of the lending community in the sector. The line of credit will not only enhance the liquidity but will further balance our long-term ALM position as the facility is for five years,” said Sanjaya Gupta, Managing Director, PNB Housing Finance Ltd.
“The RBI has allowed us to borrow ECB up to USD 750 million annually under the automatic route and considering the strong fundamentals and inherent growth of the Company, we are hopeful that in the coming months our company will further utilize the facility.”
India needs to build 11 million homes in the affordable segment. At an average of 4.6 people per household, the 11 million units gap implies that nearly 50 million people do not have adequate housing.