Private sector lender, Yes Bank on Wednesday announced the listing of the Bank’s debut US $600 million bond issue under its maiden US $1 billion medium-term note (MTN) bond on country’s first international exchange BSE’s IndiaINX at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City here.

The Yes Bank’s MTN programme — a debt note that matures or has a payback period of 5 years — on Global Securities Market (GSM) became the country’s first capital raising platform for international investors in any currency.

Yes Bank MD and CEO, Rana Kapoor termed the development as a landmark moment providing a major push for the Indian banks to compete with the other global banks in offering the off-shore investment instruments with better cost efficiency.

“This opens the door for a number of issuers in India with better cost efficiency. Time management in the listing is extremely effective. The overall frugality involved here at GIFT SEZ, offers great cost efficiency for us. Competitively priced loans to exporters, for trade finance or for Masala Bonds or overseas acquisition finance, overseas growth finance are the next big opportunities. It makes us competitive without the attendant cost structure of being in an expensive place like Dubai, Singapore or London,” Kapoor said on the sidelines the listing ceremony, which was attended by the Gujarat chief Minister, Vijay Rupani.

The MTN bonds issuance received an overwhelming response from international investors as it was oversubscribed by more than 1.83 times from over 90 accounts and saw a final order book, at a spread of 130 basis points against 150 basis points seen at the opening of the issue. Asian accounts received 58 per cent of the allocation, Europe-Middle East and Africa (EMEA) received 41 per cent and offshore US accounts received 1 per cent.

The split of issuance indicates, 46 per cent to asset managers, 38 per cent to banks, 11 per cent to insurance companies and 5 per cent to private banks.

S Ravi, Chairman, BSE said: “This (bond issuance) will increase the momentum of growth and would attract the best of the global investors to consider IFSC in India to invest and trade in world’s fastest growing economy. As the oldest bourse from Asia, BSE is excited to bring to global issuers and investors India’s first international fund raising platform, Global Securities Market, which offers the very best in transparency.”

YES Bank was the first International Business Unit (IBU) to have started operations in October 2015. “Out of the overall US $ 8 billion worth of business done by all the IBUs so far, Yes Bank share is US $2 billion worth of business from advances and loans,” said Maheshwar Sahu, Chairman, GIFT SEZ Ltd.

GIFT SEZ has registered overall business of US $ 20 billion sum insured by the insurance and has an average daily turnover of US $ 400 million for the two international exchanges by BSE and NSE.

Till now 136 entities have either set up or in process of setting up their operations in GIFT SEZ thereby providing employment to over 8000 people.

“With the Budget announcement for a unified regulator for IFSC and exemption for units from the Short Term Capital Gains Tax will play a big booster. Our internal study has revealed that by 2030 we will have about 1600 units here out of which over 800 units will be financial units. They will generate 75,000 jobs,” he said.