NHPC inks pact with BHEL for hydro power projects overseas; Board approves raising Rs 4500 cr via corporate bonds

PAVING the way for its overseas forays, state-owned NHPC has entered into a pact with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for undertaking hydro power projects in overseas markets even as the PSU’s board approved raising up to Rs 4,500 crore through issue of corporate bonds on private placement basis.
"NHPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on July 21, 2016 with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)," NHPC said in a filing to BSE.
As per the MOU, NHPC and BHEL will look after the...
civil and electro mechanical packages respectively. With an authorized share capital of Rs 150,000 million, NHPC is a premier PSU in the country for development of hydropower. During 2015-16 fiscal, NHPC power stations generated 23,404 million units. In the last fiscal, NHPC had a sales of Rs 7,347 crore with a net profit of Rs 2,440 crore.
Presently, the hydel power undertaking is engaged in the construction of five projects aggregating to a total installed capacity of 4,290 MW.
The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on July 22, 2016 “considered and approved raising of corporate bonds up to Rs 4,500 crore till September 2017, on private placement basis”, NHPC said in a filing to BSE.
The approval of the board is subject to shareholders’ approval through special resolution, the power PSU said.
The Miniratna PSU is leading a list of a public sector undertakings (PSU) looking to tap the corporate bond market for funds. Dealers said that other PSUs like NTPC, Power Finance Corporation and Steel Authority of India are also expected to come out with corporate bond issues soon.
Corporates have increasingly been tapping the corporate bond market and the commercial paper market to meet their borrowing needs instead of going to banks, mainly because of the disparity in cost of borrowing. In 2015-16, NHPC generated 23,404 million units of electricity. It had sales of Rs 7,347 crore with a net profit of Rs2440 crore. It is constructing five projects with total installed capacity of 4,290 MW, including 1,000 MW.