Report: India allows Russia to invest in corporate bonds

NEW DELHI, Mar 24 (PRIME) -- India has approved Russia's proposal to invest in the bonds of Indian companies, The Print reported on Thursday citing high-ranking government officials.

"According to the proposal, Russian government officials asked their Indian counterparts to relax India’s External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) framework, which will allow Russian entities to invest in bonds of Indian companies, and pay for these investments through an account with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that has existed since before the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago," the newspaper reported.

One of the officials said that a U.S. $261.9 million reserve was accumulated from unfinished spending on defense purchases from Russia. Another source said that the funds may be attracted through rupee-denominated masala bonds issued outside India. Since the bonds are issued outside the country, the payments can be made in foreign currencies, usually, U.S. dollars.

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