R-Infra plans Rs 2,500-cr debt mop-up

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) plans to raise Rs 2,500 crore as loan in this financial year for a real estate project in Hyderabad, a railway line linking Delhi airport and the city and for road projects across the country.The company is in talks with a slew of banks, including IDBI Bank, IIFCL and Axis Bank, for raising the fund at a time when credit crunch has put pressure on interest rates."The company has a healthy balance sheet with a cash reserve of Rs 10,000 crore, which could help raise 80 per cent of the debt for projects at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level. Considering the situation, the interest would be slightly higher for the loan, but for us, it is not the concern. Our focus is to execute projects before the time," Lalit Jalan, the chief executive officer and director of R-Infra, told Business Standard.

The company plans to achieve financial closure for its Delhi airport rail-link project and the Hyderabad trade tower project before December this year, while the Parbati-Koldam transmission project will take three months for tying up funds.The company, formerly known as Reliance Energy, requires Rs 30,000 crore in the next five years for execution of its ongoing projects.R-Infra's nine projects, including roads, a metro rail and real estate projects, will require Rs 16,000 crore, while power transmission and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects will need Rs 9,000 crore. Power distribution projects will require about Rs 5,000 crore, said Jalan.

R-Infra has Rs 5,400 crore in debt at present, including external commercial borrowings (ECBs) of Rs 3,500 crore.The company has invested Rs 5,000 crore of its total Rs 10,000-crore reserves in inter-corporate deposits (ICDs). It has also parked about Rs 4,000 crore in overseas assets, while the remaining Rs 1,000 crore is invested in domestic ICDs and fixed maturity plans, said Jalan.Through a buyback of its shares, the promoter has so far increased its stake in the company to 36.5 per cent at an investment of Rs 650 crore. It still has Rs 150 crore at its disposal to buy back more shares. "We have already got the shareholders' approval to invest Rs 1,200 crore for the second round of buyback," said Jalan.