Norms for external commercial borrowing eased

New Delhi: The Government today announced a new liberalised external commercial borrowing (ECB) which would allow automatic approvals for borrowings with an average maturity of five years and above.

The Reserve Bank of India has been asked by the Ministry of Finance to announce the details of the new guidelines, the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh said. The automatic route for borrowings of maturity of five years and above would be allowed as long as they are utilised for investment in "critical sectors", infrastructure and small and medium enterprises, Mr Singh added.

He said that the new scheme would aim at minimising discretionary elements beside simplifying and rationalising procedures. It would also promote transparency to all ECBs.
The Finance Minister said the new policy, which has been reviewed in consultation with RBI, would enable corporates to access resources from international markets at competitive rates.