NEW DELHI: In a drive to raise capital on the advise of the RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, private
lenders Axis Bank and HDFC Ltd have raised Rs 20,000 crore by issuing shares to qualified investors.
Housing finance major HDFC Ltd on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 10,000 crore equity capital by issuing shares to qualified investors, including Government of Singapore and Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund. In a regulatory filing, HDFC said it has issued 5,68,18,181 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 1,760, aggregating to Rs 10,000 crore. Besides, it raised Rs 3,693 crore through an issue of non-convertible debentures.
In a separate statement Axis Bank, too, said it has been able to raise Rs 10,000 crore from the market.The bank had announced the opening of its QIP last week to raise funds to enhance its capital adequacy.
According to the statement, Axis Bank’s QIP issuance was done at a price of Rs 420.1 per equity share, which is a five per cent discount to the floor price of Rs 442.19. However, the bank did not reveal the name of investors.
“We have successfully closed our QIP of Rs 10,000 crore. We have received great response from global and local investors alike, and I am grateful to them for their continued faith in the Axis Bank franchise. We believe that the bank is well placed to leverage all the possible growth opportunities that will come in as the economy opens up and is in a strong position to combat the challenges that emanate from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis,” Amitabh Chaudhry, MD and CEO, Axis Bank, said.
In the last few months, a host of private banks have lined up to raise capital. On May 26, Kotak Mahindra Bank had kicked off its mega billion-dollar QIP and share sale which saw a tremendous response and essentially triggered a fundraising frenzy for domestic financials. After the bank raised Rs 7,440 crore, other followed including, Yes Bank (Rs 15,000 crore) and IDFC Bank (Rs 2,000 crore).Similarly, ICICI Bank has also launched its Rs 15,000 crore QIP, among other banks, including small banks, that have announced or indicated similar plans to improve their capital adequacy, keeping in view the stress on their balance sheet due to the pandemic.