The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking relaxed borrowing measures for non-banking finance companies (NBFC). In a letter to RBI governor, Shaktikanta Das, FICCI said that NBFC – infrastructure finance companies (IFC) should be allowed to issue tax-free bonds. “IFCs should be allowed to issue tax-free bonds so that they are able to mobilise long-term financing and use the funds for infrastructure development. At least those IFCs which have been according Public Financial Institution (PFI) status, should be allowed to issue such tax-free bonds,” FICCI said. IFCs should be allowed to issue non-convertible debentures to retail investors, FICCI added. FICCI also sought relaxed investment guidelines for insurance companies to subscribe to bond issuances by IFCs with a credit rating of ‘A-’. Presently insurance companies can invest in infrastructure companies with a credit rating of ‘A’ and above. But they are not allowed to invest in debt instruments that have a credit rating lower that ‘AA’.
