Indian Builders to Access Foreign Money in a Hassle Free Way

Bangalore: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has simplified the foreign money access rule for low-cost property developers in India. This step is to fuel developers to launch more number of low-cost housing projects which include slum rehabilitation in the country, reports Neha Dasgupta of Reuters.

According to RBI’s notification, minimum experienced players can now access foreign money through the external commercial borrowing (ECB) scheme in contrast with the earlier binding clause of five years of experience in the construction field. However, to access the loan, developers have to keep a good track record concerning quality and timely delivery.

As a whole, RBI has extended the ECBs limit up to $1 billion which developers can avail in the fiscal years of 2014-2015.

"The ECB availed of by developers and builders shall be swapped into rupees for the entire maturity on a fully hedged basis," said the RBI in a notification.

Moreover, for property developers, RBI has fragmented the minimum paid-up capital of 500 million.

Last week, the Indian rupee has witnessed the record low of 59.9850 per dollar, making the overseas investors to sell their Indian debt and many of them have incurred loss because of unhedged foreign currency exposure.  

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