PTI reported that JSW Steel plans to raise $600 million through overseas borrowings by March next year to prepay part of its rupee loan.
JSW Steel's joint MD & CFO Mr Seshagiri Rao told PTI "e are planning to prepay INR 3,500 crore rupee loans by raising USD 600 million subject to the approval of the RBI. Hopefully by the end of the fiscal, we will be going for raising funds."
Stating that the Reserve Bank of India had recently allowed raising dollar loans for prepaying rupee loans, he said that in October, JSW sought RBI's approval for availing the facility.
He added "The approval will be valid only for three months. So if the approval comes in January, we have to finish it within three months."
He told "Our entire sales revenue is dollar linked. Whether we sell in the domestic market or export, it is based on landed cost of imports. Therefore, it (prepaying rupee loans by raising dollar loans) is an opportunity for us to reduce our cost of funding by accessing international markets."
In June, the Reserve Bank of India had permitted Indian companies to prepay rupee loans by raising foreign currency loans based on weighted average of exports in the last three years.
As on September 30, 2012, JSW's total long term borrowings stood at about INR 15,149 crore as on September 30, 2012.