Bharti Telecom, the holding company of Bharti Airtel, plans to raise up to Rs 10,500 crore on Tuesday through the sale of bonds maturing in two years, and three years and two months.
If fully subscribed, it would mark the largest bond issuance of 2025-2026 (FY26) yet.
The bonds will carry annual coupons of 7.35 per cent and 7.45 per cent, respectively, making this the company's cheapest fundraising in four years. In comparison, Bharti Telecom had raised Rs 11,150 crore through bond sales in November 2024.
Mutual funds are expected to be the primary investors, with foreign and private banks likely to be major buyers as well.
Crisil and CARE have each assigned an AAA rating to the bonds.
The firm has Rs 9,750 crore of debt maturing between November and December, and an additional Rs 16,150 crore due between 2027 and 2034.
After a surge in corporate bond issuances in the first quarter, activity slowed in the second as borrowing costs climbed. However, the market expects a rebound soon, with easing yields expected to rekindle investor interest in the bond market.
Indian corporates had raised a record Rs 4.07 trillion through debt in the first four months of FY26.
However, banks, which were once key players in primary issuance, have raised only about Rs 1,800 crore so far in FY26.
Meanwhile, corporates that required funding have largely turned to external commercial borrowings (ECBs), where the fully hedged cost is very competitive for short-tenor overseas borrowings, or to domestic bank funding linked to the external benchmark lending rate (EBLR).
Market participants said that many banks currently sit with ample liquidity or comfortable capital cushions, and when the lenders require funds, they either tap qualified institutional placements (QIPs) or raise foreign currency bonds.
-- Anjali Kumari & Subrata Panda, Business Standard
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