NDB exploring options of raising funds via rupee denominated bonds next year

New Development Bank is exploring options of raising funds through rupee denominated bonds next year to fund projects in India, a senior official of multilateral funding agency said on Tuesday.

Mobilising local currency resources is part of NDB's strategy and the bank aims to mobilise 30 per cent of its total resources in local currency, NDB Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer Anil Kishora told PTI.

The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries in 2014.

Recently, Kishora said, the bank has raised resources in South African rand.

"We are looking at rupee denominated bond. Hopefully in 2024, there could be some movement on that subject to regulatory approvals etc.

Which we are working on. Some progress has been made," he said. Asked about the quantum, he said, it has not been decided as of now. Raising funds in local currency obviates forex risk as well as makes financing easier.

Talking about some of the significant project funded by NDB in India, Kishora said Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System, Mumbai and Indore metro projects are some of the important ones.Besides, NDB has funded water sector projects in Rajasthan, Manipur and Himachal Pradesh, Ecotourism in Meghalaya and rural roads in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

According to an evaluation report by NDB's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), the bank's financing facility of up to USD 10 billion for loans in response to the COVID-19 emergency in its founding member countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa benefitted 400 million people, including women, health workers, senior citizens, people with disabilities, farmers and more.

The report estimates that through this financing, the member countries were able to provide much needed support, including life cover of USD 67,400 to 2.2 million health workers, USD 4.17 billion in income support to 206.5 million women, ex-gratia payments of USD 13.5 each to 28.1 million senior citizens, widows, and individuals with disabilities, USD 26.9 each in advanced funds to 95 million farmers, and deliver 142 million gas cylinders to 75.6 million people.

Additionally, the India focused COVID-19 Response Programmes generated 5.4 billion person-days of employment, with 52 per cent going to women, and ensured 100 per cent of district hospital doctors and nurses were trained to meet WHO standards, with 61 per cent of them being women.

"The COVID-19 pandemic was one of those rare global crises which demanded a response from almost every institution having a stake in human well-being or global development.

It was a reminder that multilateral organisations, in particular, need to stay ever prepared and equipped to respond to global crisis situations which might hit us in future," Kishora said.

Speaking about the evaluation, Ashwani Muthoo, Director General of the IEO, said the evaluation accounted for the exceptional challenges posed by the pandemic and the absence of well-established benchmarks.

"When one comprehensively considers all aspects, it becomes evident that the NDB's COVID-19 Response Programme played an instrumental role in the triumph of the individual country programs.

It is heartening to witness the commitment of all stakeholders discuss the lessons and recommendations from this independent evaluation," Muthoo said.

NDB's first COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Programme Loan was approved on March 19, 2020.

This was the first such loan by any multilateral development bank in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to address the health and economic consequences of the outbreak.