ReNew refinances dollar-denominated bonds

It issued $525m bonds in 2019 that will mature in 2024.

India-based ReNew Energy Global plc has refinanced its 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds with amortising project debt from an Indian nonbank financial company.

In a statement, ReNew said it is the first Indian renewable energy company to refinance dollar-denominated bonds. By doing so ahead of time, the company showed “strong and continued access to domestic debt capital” and its capability to proactively manage to refinance risk.

The company added that the refinancing has cut the bonds’ interest cost in Indian rupees by 200 basis points, with the rate fixed for three years whilst pushing out maturity to the end of the financial year 2027.

ReNew issued bonds in the amount of $525m in 2019 that were set to mature in 2024.

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“In today’s business climate, being pro-active and flexible in one’s financing strategy is key, and our team has taken the lead in this by making us the first Indian renewable energy to raise money onshore to retire US dollar bond obligations,” ReNew CFO Kedar Upadhye said.

“As we help spearhead India’s energy transition, we have mitigated refinancing risk without depleting the company’s growth capital and will continue to look at multiple pools of capital to further abate refinancing risk,” he added.

The company added that the refinancing move reduces near-term refinancing risk for bonds and provides bond investors liquidity.

ReNew currently has a portfolio of around 12.8 gigawatts (GW), up from 10.2GW at the start of 2022.