India's top LNG importer Petronet seeks $1.4 bn local loan
Petronet LNG Ltd.
is seeking a loan of at least 120 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) for a new
petrochemical plant
and an
LNG terminal
, according to people familiar with the matter.
Local lenders including
Axis Bank
,
State Bank of India
and
Union Bank of India
are considering to join the facility, which is among the company's largest fundraising exercises, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The borrower is seeking bids from banks in groups or individually, they said, adding that SBI Capital Markets has been appointed as adviser for the deal.
The facility for triple-A rated Petronet comes at a period of muted activity for India's loans space, where bank lending grew 9.5% as of June 27, the lowest growth rate since March 2022, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India. If the financing goes through, it would be one of the biggest local currency loans for the country this year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Spokespeople for
Axis Bank
, Petronet, SBI, SBI Capital Markets and Union Bank of India didn't immediately reply to emails from Bloomberg News seeking comment.
Proceeds from the loan will partially fund the construction of a new petrochemical complex in Dahej, located in the southwest coast of Gujarat in India, the people said, adding that it will help diversify the company's earnings beyond the
LNG
space. The project is estimated to cost 206.85 billion rupees, according to the company's website.
The New Delhi-based firm is also setting up a separate five million tons land-based LNG import terminal at Gopalpur, located on the east coast in Odisha.
The latest loan could carry a tenor of more than 10 years, the people said. The pricing could be lower than SBI's one-month marginal cost of funds based lending rate of 7.95% currently, a benchmark gauge of local currency borrowings, two of the people said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
SC cancels Rs 295 crore land payout order over bizman's fake claim
Noida: The Supreme Court has struck down a Rs 295-crore compensation award to Hyderabad-based businessman Reddy Veeranna, ruling that the payment was secured through fraudulent claims and a deliberate suppression of facts regarding land ownership in Noida. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A three-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside both the Allahabad high court's 2021 order and its own 2022 ruling that had granted enhanced compensation to Veeranna for land acquired in Sector 18. "The impugned order of the High Court dated October 28, 2021 passed in WP (Civil) 2272/2019 [Reddy Veeranna v State of Uttar Pradesh & ors] stands set aside, since fraud has vitiated the entire proceedings. As a corollary to the above, the judgment and order dated May 5, 2022 in Reddy Veerana (supra) (which too was obtained by playing fraud) is declared to be a nullity and stands recalled in exercise of our inherent powers," the court said in its order. The case revolves around over five bighas in Chhalera Banger village, jointly purchased in 1997 by Veeranna, Vishnu Vardhan, and T Sudhakar for Rs 1 crore. In 2005, Noida Authority partially acquired this land and later leased it to DLF for Rs 173 crore. The Mall of India now stands there. While the three co-owners initially contested the Authority's acquisition together, Veeranna subsequently began claiming exclusive ownership. He obtained a compromise decree from a trial court in 2006 — using a revoked power of attorney — which became the basis for recording his name as the sole owner in govt records. In 2019, Veeranna approached the high court, seeking enhanced compensation without making his co-owners party to the case. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The high court awarded him compensation at Rs 1.1 lakh per sqm. The Supreme Court not just upheld the HC order, but also removed a 50% development charge that had been deducted, raising Veeranna's total entitlement to around 360 crore. The payout eventually settled at 295 crore following discussions with the Authority. The apex court had, however, clarified then that it was not deciding on ownership. Vardhan, who claimed he was not informed about these proceedings, approached the SC in 2023, filing multiple petitions to challenge Veeranna's claim. He asserted that Veeranna had repeatedly misled the HC and SC, relying on an invalid decree procured through manipulation and concealment. In its judgment, the apex court found that Veeranna had consistently identified himself as a joint owner with Vishnu and Sudhakar in earlier proceedings, but abruptly changed his stance in 2019. The bench held that he had suppressed critical facts, including Vishnu's pending civil suit challenging the 2006 decree. "We have no hesitation to hold that Veeranna Reddy tailored a situation to suit his convenience by not impleading Vishnu as a party with the sole intention of obtaining an order in respect of not only the quantum of compensation payable for acquisition of the subject land but also a declaration as to his entitlement thereto — all, behind Vishnu's back. An attempt by Reddy to steal a march over Vishnu is clearly discernible which, without reference to anything more, does border on fraud," the court observed. The case has now been remanded in the high court for a fresh hearing of ownership and compensation with all parties present, including Vishnu and Sudhakar. While Veeranna has retained the compensation amount, he has furnished property securities worth Rs 295 crore through his firm Manyata-Pristine. It will remain deposited with the SC. Given the "magnitude of fraud", the SC has requested the high court chief justice to personally hear the case and conclude it preferably by the end of this year.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Intel Slides After New CEO's Comeback Plan Worries Investors
(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Intel Corp. tumbled 8.5% on Friday after Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan sparked concerns that he was more focused on cost cutting than restoring the chipmaker's technological edge. As part of Intel's second-quarter report, Tan said the company will cancel some factory projects and take a more conservative approach to future spending. Tan called the investments begun under his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, excessive and unwise. 'I do not subscribe to the belief that if you build it, they will come,' he said on a conference call with analysts. At the same time, Tan struggled to give a clear picture of how he'll make the company more competitive again. Gelsinger had embarked on an ambitious plan to turn Intel into a chip foundry, a business that makes products for outside clients. A key part of that was moving toward a more advanced production technique called 14A. But Tan signaled Thursday that Intel will only roll out that technology tentatively. The company will add large-scale capacity for 14A when Tan is convinced he has enough customers committed to using it, he said on the call. That didn't sit well with investors, who sent the shares down to $20.70 in New York on Friday, the stock's biggest single-day decline in more than three months. 'The idea you might step away from 14A if you can't get someone to invest in it is a problem,' said Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst Matt Bryson. The crux of the concern: If Intel stops introducing new manufacturing technology, it's bowing out of the race for leadership of the chip industry — and closing the book on what made it untouchable for decades. Intel's woes have previously spurred speculation that it might be acquired or broken up, though there's no clear path to a major deal. Possible suitors for Intel's factory division, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., have backed away from the idea. Tan also has said he aims to keep Intel's manufacturing and product-design businesses together, though he does plan to offload smaller divisions. Intel confirmed on Friday that it aims to spin off its networking group into a standalone business. The company said it has begun identifying strategic investors, without naming them. CRN previously reported on the plan. In its earnings report, Intel gave an upbeat third-quarter sales forecast while missing estimates for some profit measures. Margins will be tighter than Wall Street anticipated in the period, and Intel only expects a break-even quarter. Analysts had projected a 4-cent gain on that basis. In the second quarter, revenue amounted to $12.9 billion, little changed from a year earlier. Analysts had projected $11.9 billion. The company posted a loss of 10 cents a share, compared with an estimated profit of 1 cent. Intel's stock had been up 13% this year through Thursday's close. Though that gain was in line with most chip stocks in 2025, rivals Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. have performed better — lifted by their artificial intelligence prospects. Tan's focus is getting Intel's financial house in order, a task that has included thousands of layoffs and the slashing of capital spending. The company said Thursday that already-paused factories in Germany and Poland won't go ahead, and progress at another project in Ohio will be slowed. Intel will reduce capital expenditures on new plants and equipment this year and plans to make further cuts to that budget next year. The company will spend about $18 billion this year and less in 2026, executives said. Tan, who took the CEO job in March, acknowledged that he still has work to do to make the company more competitive in its main markets: processors for personal computers and servers. He's also still crafting Intel's plan to crack the AI chip industry — an area where Nvidia dominates. Third-quarter sales will be $12.6 billion to $13.6 billion, Intel said. Analysts on average had projected a number at the low end of that range. The company has benefited from a resurgence in the PC industry, driven in part by manufacturers' efforts to build up inventory before tariffs hit. But the Silicon Valley pioneer has lost market share to rivals and is struggling to attract foundry clients. Intel's layoff plans — first announced during the previous quarterly report — will reduce staff by 15%, Intel said. And the company expects further cuts through attrition and the splitting off of business units, Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner said in an interview. The chipmaker aims to end the year with 75,000 employees, down more than 20% from the end of the June quarter. Bloomberg News reported in April that Intel was looking to cut its workforce by roughly that amount. Analysts have expressed concern that PC demand will decelerate after a strong first half. The threat of tariffs imposed by the US — and other nations in retaliation — may have prompted PC makers to rush to stock up ahead of prospective cost spikes, the company warned last quarter. Demand was better than expected last quarter because an economic slowdown didn't materialize, Zinsner said. But the company is aware that some demand might have stemmed from consumers and businesses trying to avoid tariffs. 'We felt like tariffs might be a headwind in the second quarter and would further unsettle the economy,' he said. 'None of that transpired.' Intel's client computing division had revenue of $7.9 billion last quarter, topping the average prediction of $7.3 billion. Data center sales were $3.9 billion, compared with a $3.7 billion estimate. The foundry division generated revenue of $4.4 billion, in line with projections. Intel had previously said it planned to cut operating expenses to about $17 billion this year and $16 billion in 2026. The Santa Clara, California-based company remains on track for the 2025 cuts, Intel said Thursday. Tan's predecessor, Gelsinger, had concentrated on expanding Intel's factory network, once its key competitive advantage. He laid out plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on making its plants the best in the industry again, a status that would force rivals to use it as an outsourced provider of manufacturing. 'We will take a fundamentally different approach to building our foundry business,' Tan said in a memo to staff Thursday. 'Over the past several years, the company invested too much, too soon – without adequate demand. In the process, our factory footprint became needlessly fragmented and underutilized. We must correct our course.' For now, the biggest user of its factories is Intel's internal design teams. Some of Intel's best offerings now contain components made by TSMC, adding more pressure to its margins. Adjusted gross margin — the percentage of sales remaining after excluding the cost of production — was about 30% in the second quarter and will be 36% in the current period. That's close to half of what it was when Intel's chips dominated the data center market. Nvidia has margins above 70%. Intel's Zinsner said the company isn't yet ready to unveil AI-related gear. The chipmaker is focusing on the development of products that will fit in unserved parts of the market. Ultimately, Intel needs to figure out how it can benefit from artificial intelligence, Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne said in a note. 'A fundamental market truth isn't going away,' he said. 'Global demand for AI chips continues to soar, and Intel must find its footing in that value chain.' (Updates shares starting in first paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Rubio praises Pak's ‘partnership in countering terrorism' after meeting Ishaq Dar
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, in Washington on Friday. The two leaders held wide-ranging talks on strengthening bilateral ties, trade cooperation, and regional to X, Rubio said he thanked Dar for 'Pakistan's partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional stability.' The leaders also discussed ways to expand bilateral trade and deepen collaboration in the critical minerals and mining with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister @MIshaqDar50 today to discuss expanding bilateral trade and enhancing collaboration in the critical minerals sector. I also thanked him for Pakistan's partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 25, 2025advertisementAccording to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Secretary Rubio expressed appreciation for 'Pakistan's continued willingness to play a constructive role in mediating conversations with Iran and its commitment to preserving regional stability.' The two sides also discussed plans for the upcoming US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue set to be held in Islamabad this August. The talks included enhancing cooperation against terror groups such as ISIS-K, as both nations seek to broaden counterterrorism efforts in the Rubio stressed the importance of 'expanding mutually beneficial bilateral trade' and exploring future opportunities for joint work in the minerals sector, an area gaining strategic significance amid growing global demand for critical to Arab News, Ishaq Dar is on an eight-day visit to the US, during which he chaired multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meetings as part of Pakistan's rotating presidency this meeting comes just days after Rubio announced that the United States would designate The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).TRF had claimed responsibility for the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people.- EndsTune InMust Watch
