SBI raises $1.25 b in bond sale

State Bank of India has successfully raised US$1.25 billion from an overseas dollar-denominated bond sale, making it the single largest issue from the domestic banking in recent years.

It was over-subscribed 5.2 times. At 3.75 per cent over the US treasury bills, the SBI issue is the cheapest five-year offering by a domestic company till date with the effective coupon rate, payable half-yearly, working out to be just 4.125 per cent, according to Citi India, one of the lead bankers to the bond sale. The geographical spread of the investors are: Asia (47 per cent), US (31 per cent) and Europe (22 per cent). Within them, nearly 50 per cent are fund managers, 25 per cent from private banks. While 12 per cent are banks and insurance funds, the remaining 2-3 per cent are public companies.