SBI and NIIF join hands to provide greater thrust to infrastructure financing

The State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) on July 1st inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost the availability of capital for infrastructure projects. The scope of the MoU includes equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support and take-out finance for operating assets. The objective of this initiative is to aid in filling the gap at a time when the availability of equity and debt financing for infrastructure has moderated.

Speaking on the occasion Rajnish Kumar, Chairman at SBI said, “Today on the auspicious occasion of 64th Bank’s Day, SBI and NIIF have joined hands to provide a suite of financing solutions to the Infrastructure sector. The initiative will address concerns relating to the availability of equity and long term debt funding options to large scale projects thereby stimulating infrastructure development.” 

See Zee Business video below:

रेलवे ने ट्रेनों का नया टाइम टेबल जारी किया..@RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/yfqW39wq8h

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) July 1, 2019

Sujoy Bose, Managing Director and CEO, NIIF said, “The availability of post-construction take-out equity and debt financing for developers and builders of infrastructure projects will play an important role in the infrastructure development cycle in India.  NIIF’s partnership with SBI will allow us to design large-scale long-term financing solutions to address this need.  We are delighted to sign this MOU today, and congratulate SBI on its 64th Bank’s Day.” 

The initiative will help SBI and NIIF to review opportunities to unlock capital from operational projects, thereby creating room for fresh lending, and addressing asset-liability mismatches.  In addition to focusing on takeout financing, including through the IDF route, the partnership will also explore new avenues of financing renewable energy projects.

During the last financial year 2018-19, SBI through its specialised Project Finance & Structuring Business Unit have extended financial assistance of about Rs.51,000 cr to 47 infrastructure projects and during the current financial year, the Bank has a robust pipeline.