ICICI Bank to issue bonds worth $300 million

HONG KONG, Oct 17: A 0 million bond issue from ICICI Bank , India's second-largest lender, has been nearly three times subscribed, a market source said on Tuesday.

ICICI, whose loan book is growing strongly, was expected to price its second offshore bond issue this year by Wednesday at a spread of about 75 basis points over mid-swap.

The five-year deal is rated Baa2 by Moody's Investors Service and BB-plus by Standard&Poor's.

The bank's chief financial officer, Vishakha Mulye, told Reuters on Sept. 19 that ICICI could raise more funds from the debt market in coming months as it expected faster growth in retail and corporate loans.

The bank's loans grew by 50 percent from a year earlier to 1.47 trillion rupees ( billion) in the quarter ended in June, with the international portfolio expanding 92 percent to 133 billion rupees.

In August, the Indian lender raised 0 million in perpetual, hybrid tier I securities. That deal was more than 10 times subscribed as investors saw the offer as a way to tap into India's growth.

India's economy grew 8.9 percent in April-June from a year earlier.

Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch are joint bookrunners for the latest deal.

REUTERS