The hardening rupee against the dollar and other global currencies has done little to kill corporate India’s appetite for foreign funds. In fact, external commercial borrowings (ECBs) have gone up whenever the rupee gained against the dollar and fell when the domestic currency declined against the greenback this year. Since the beginning of this fiscal to October, Indian companies raised close to $20 billion by way of ECBs through automatic and approved routes. This is despite the rupee gaining a tad over 6 per cent against the dollar.Companies that raised funds abroad include blue chips like Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, Aditya Birla Nova and L&T. However, according to experts, with the hardening of interest rates in the domestic market, ECBs still seem to be attractive vis-à-vis domestic funds. According to the RBI, between April and October, India Inc raised a total of $19.22 billion to fund its various requirements, mostly domestic capital expenditure. Notably, only a few companies tapped the international market for funds to finance their overseas buys.
