HDFC Bank may rely on local market for ₹15,500 cr share sale
HDFC Bank Ltd, the world’s most expensive major lender, is considering relying entirely on the Indian market for a share sale that could raise as much as ₹15,500 crore ($2.3 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Mumbai-based bank is weighing seeking all the capital through a qualified institutional placement in India, rather than its usual practice of splitting the fundraising between an offering of local stock and a sale of American depositary receipts, according to the people. HDFC Bank aims to start taking investor orders within the next couple of weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
HDFC Bank is focusing on an offering in India because it hasn’t finished preparing its latest financial statements under US accounting standards, which it would need for an ADR sale, according to the people. It wants to proceed with the fundraising soon in order to take advantage of the current market sentiment, the people said.
India’s benchmark stock index has posted four straight weeks of gains, the longest stretch since April, amid optimism that economic growth will be boosted by good monsoon rainfall.
The planned share sale would rank as one of the biggest-ever Indian equity offerings in localcurrency terms, data compiled by
Bloomberg show.
HDFC Bank, helmed by CEO Aditya Puri, has consistently maintained a low bad-loan ratio by limiting its exposure to heavily indebted Indian companies and lending to the country’s growing middle class.