A report from RBI reveals tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani borrowed more than $1 out of every $5 from foreign lenders.
Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are India’s richest billionaires who have a combined net worth of over $200 billion. Their companies together control a market capitalization of nearly ₹33 lakh crore (approx. $429 billion). While India Inc. borrowed $38 billion from foreign lenders, India’s richest men, Ambani and Adani alone accounted for more than a fifth of it.
Lower rates of interest in foreign markets are one of the reasons companies go for borrowing in foreign currency and external commercial borrowings, or ECBs, are a crucial source of funds for helping companies meet their funding requirements. This is true, especially in the US, Japan, and Europe, where the volatility in foreign currency exchange rates remains an issue that companies need to proactively handle.
Now, a report based on data from the Reserve Bank of India shows that Ambani and Adani together borrowed more than $1 out of every $5 from foreign lenders.
In total, Indian companies borrowed $38.2 billion from foreign lenders in 2021-22. Of this, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, and the Gautam Adani-led companies borrowed $8.25 billion whereas Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani account for $1 out of every $5 of foreign loans.