Mumbai:State-owned IREDA plans to raise Rs 2,500-3,000 crore through qualified institutional placement route this fiscal as it looks to dilute another 3.76 per cent of the government holding in the company following a successful IPO in December 2023, a top company official said Monday.
The company also said it had an exposure of Rs 700 crore to the crisis-hit Gensol Engineering and it has already recovered a little over Rs 100 crore by way of various instruments, including encashing their bank guarantees as well as withdrawal of the FD money.Gensol had acted as a financier and lessor of vehicles to the all-electric ride-hailing company Blue Smart.
The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has already admitted to corporate insolvency proceedings against Gensol Engineering, following a petition by IREDA.In April this year, in an interim order, Sebi barred Gensol Engineering and promoters -- Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi -- from the securities markets till further orders in a fund diversion and governance lapses case.
"We have already raised Rs 2,005 crore last month through a QIP by way of government diluting 3.24 per cent stake. We are planning to raise another Rs 2,500 -3000 crore in the second tranche within this fiscal," IREDA Chairman and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said during an interaction with the reporters here.
This will give the company a further borrowing power worth Rs 30,000 crore (this fiscal), as the thumb rule says you can borrow eight times of this money, he said, adding, "We will try to optimize our equity and our borrowing so that we can optimize lending and overall minimise the borrowing cost." He said that the Government mandated the company's board to dilute up to 7 per cent this fiscal; it still has scope to dilute another 3.76 per cent stake.
Das said last year IREDA borrowings were at around Rs 24,000-25,000 crore.IREDA reported a 49 per cent year-on-year growth in operating profit and a 30 per cent rise in total income from operations in the first quarter of the current financial year.IREDA's outstanding loan book surged to Rs 79,941 crore, a 26 per cent increase over the previous year, with significant contributions from solar, wind, and emerging technologies like green hydrogen, smart meters, and EVs, the company said.
The company maintained its AAA (Stable) domestic credit ratings and successfully raised Rs 5,903 crore during the quarter, including a JPY 26 billion ECB from SBI Tokyo, ensuring access to cost-effective capital.Further, net worth rose by 36 per cent to Rs 12,402 crore, as per the company.
Over the past financial year, IREDA said, it steadily reduced its NPAs by strengthening credit appraisal systems and recovery mechanisms, and as a part of its forward strategy, the organisation continues to diversify its lending portfolio and align with national and global sustainability goals.In a major policy boost, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Ministry of Finance has notified IREDA bonds as 'long-term specified assets' under Section 54EC of the Income-tax Act, 1961, effective July 9, 2025.This enables investors to claim capital gains tax exemption while supporting India's green transition.
The move is also expected to reduce IREDA's cost of capital and encourage wider investor participation.He said that "last two years, the company has been growing 27-30 per cent. When the country net added 27-30 GW of green power last year, we grew at 29 per cent."Given that the first quarter of this fiscal year already saw an addition of 14 GW, if the momentum is maintained, it will be 52 GW by March 26.
So, if at all, we add 50 GW of new installed capacity, there is ample scope for our loan growing much above 30 per cent," he added.Of the 484.8 GW of total installed power capacity, as much as 242.8 GW is now based on renewable or low-carbon sources, and the Government target is to take the green component to 50 per cent of the total by 2030.
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