Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Advises on the USD 500 Million Foreign Currency Climate Bond Issue by Indian Railway Finance Corporation

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised the Bankers in relation to the USD 500 million offshore fundraising by Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC) by way of foreign currency Climate Bonds, under its USD 7 billion Global Medium-Term Note Programme (MTN Programme). The Bankers to the transaction were BNP Paribas; DBS Bank Limited; The Hongkong; Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited; MUFG Securities Asia Limited; State Bank of India (London Branch); and Standard Chartered Bank.

 

The Capital Markets Practice of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised on the Transaction. The Capital Markets team was led by Gokul Rajan, Partner; with support from Ambuj Gupta, Associate; and Chinar Gupta, Associate.

 

As a part of the Transaction, IRFC raised USD 500 million by way of 3.75 per cent notes due 2032. IRFC had received a ‘Climate Bonds’ certification from the Climate Bonds Initiative in respect of its Green Financing Framework. The drawdown by IRFC pursuant to the updated Programme was made under the Green Financing Framework, at IRFC’s discretion.

 

This Transaction makes IRFC the first Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to list its offshore bonds exclusively at Indian stock exchanges established in the GIFT City, Gandhinagar. IRFC will utilize the proceeds for financing eligible green assets through finance leasing model and refinancing the existing debt utilized for eligible green assets under the IRFC’s ‘Green Financing Framework for Green Debt’ (Green Financing Framework) in accordance with applicable law. The funds raised will help Indian Railways to meet its target of carbon neutrality and the wider target set by the government to meet the emission and carbon norms set in COP26.

 

Other Parties and Advisors to the Transaction included Allen & Overy (Asia) Pte. Ltd. (acted as international legal counsel for the issuer); Linklaters Singapore Pte. Ltd. (acted as international legal advisors to the arrangers and dealers).

 

The Transaction was signed on 21st January 2022 and concluded on 24th January 2022.

 

About Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

India’s Leading Law Firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas was founded on May 11, 2015 and takes forward the values going back 104 years, of the erstwhile Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. Tracing its professional lineage to 1917, the Firm has 750 lawyers, including over 130 partners, and offices in India’s key business centres at Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. The Firm advises a large, and varied client base that includes domestic and foreign commercial enterprises, financial institutions, private equity funds, venture capital funds, start-ups and governmental and regulatory bodies.

 

The firm was recently named in ‘25 Most Innovative Companies of the Year’ by CII. Also, received “Law Firm of the Year” award at the Asian Legal Business (ALB) India Law Awards 2020 and “Law Firm of the Year, India” at the Asialaw Regional Awards 2020. The firm was recognised as the “Most Innovative National Law Firm of the Year – India for 2020” at the IFLR Asia Awards and voted as the “Employer of Choice for 2020” from India, by the Asian Legal Business.