SBIN

Nov 13 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - SUBSCRIBED 510,000 SHARES OF RAAJMARG INFRA INVESTMENT MANAGERS VIA RIGHTS ISSUE

Source text: ID:nNSE25QtWM

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

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Nov 12 (Reuters) - CARE Ratings Ltd CREI.NS:

• CARE RATINGS - APPROVED SALE OF PARTIAL STAKE IN CAREEDGE GLOBAL IFSC TO SBI AND NSE IFSC FOR 59.4 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE21wJcn

Further company coverage: CREI.NS

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** State Bank of India SBI.NS down 0.3% in early trade; Q2 results due later in the day

** Analysts expect India's top lender by assets to post ~5% rise in profit, 11.7% rise in rev - data compiled by LSEG

** Nomura sees healthy loan and deposit growth; NIMs to dip ~8 basis points q/q, credit cost steady at 0.5%, with margins and growth outlook key monitorables

** ICICI Securities says RBI's recent measures to ease business and enhance resilience are likely to benefit SBI and large private banks, especially via expected credit loss (ECL) flexibility, acquisition funding, and regulatory rollbacks

** Co's asset quality remains stable with benign credit costs (~0.4%), supported by strong recoveries and high provisioning, unlike stress seen in mid-sized banks, says JM Financial

** 38 analysts have a "buy" rating on avg ; median PT is 950 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, SBI up 19.3%

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Oct 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The largest-ever foreign direct investment in India's banking sector comes with a formidable brief. Dubai-based Emirates NBD ENBD.DU on Saturday agreed to pump in about $3 billion to acquire a controlling stake in RBL Bank RATB.NS. It's a bargain for the Mumbai-headquartered lender, which has fought past the worst of its asset quality problems. The infusion could potentially supercharge the target’s growth across multiple business lines, but the challenges are steep.

The deal includes a preferential issue of up to 60% and an open offer to buy up to 26% of RBL's expanded equity capital from its public shareholders. At 280 rupees ($3.19) apiece, the offer values RBL's shares at 1.1 times its average book value for the year ending March 31, per analysts at brokerage Emkay. That's lower than the 1.3 and 1.4 times multiples on which rivals like Warburg Pincus-backed IDFC First IDFB.NS and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking-backed Yes Bank YESB.NS trade.

Emirates NBD's low-ball offer probably accounts for lingering troubles in RBL's microloans and credit card portfolios, which have weighed on returns. The target's 0.51% return on assets last year was less than half those of similarly sized City Union Bank CTBK.NS and Federal Bank FED.NS, and its return on common equity has been below 10% for the past six financial years. The stock traded as high as 319 rupees on Monday, suggesting shareholders are betting there will be a higher bid.

By boosting RBL's common equity tier 1 ratio to nearly 40% in one shot, the deal gives the bank oodles of capital to turbocharge its lending and other businesses. The hope is that this gives it a chance to break out of an infinite loop of high-cost funds and high-risk assets shackling India's small private banks. Emirates NBD also sports a higher credit rating, which will open the door to prime mortgage customers, a wealth business and to financing Indian companies that are expanding along the emerging trade corridor through the Middle East to Europe.

RBL CEO R. Subramaniakumar and his team hope that will drive up return on equity to an annualised 10% by the second half of the financial year to March 31, 2028, a person close to the bank's thinking told Breakingviews. That optimism is hard to translate into reality. India's hypercompetitive mortgage market is dominated by behemoths HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS, and a growing shift of household assets to financial markets is attracting new players into the wealth business, including a joint venture between Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS and BlackRock BLK.N.

RBL's success in weathering a post-Covid credit quality morass has earned it a rare shot at breaking out of its peer group. Living up to it will be its next big test.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Emirates NBD has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in India's RBL Bank through a primary infusion of approximately $3 billion, the latter said on October 18.The investment will be made via a preferential issue of up to 60%, the statement added.

The Dubai-based bank on the same day announced an open offer to acquire 415.59 million shares of RBL, or 26% of its expanded voting share capital, from its public shareholders. The offer values RBL's shares at 280 rupees apiece.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

Adds details, stock moves; context in paragraphs 2-3, SMBC comments 10-16

By Gopika Gopakumar

MUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 8316.T has no immediate plans to raise its stake in India's Yes Bank YESB.NS beyond 24.99%, a senior executive at the bank told Reuters on Friday.

Its initial purchase, announced in May, marked the latest major overseas investment by a Japanese financial institution as they look to secure new sources of growth after years of rock bottom interest rates at home.

SMBC is, however, moving cautiously with its biggest investment in India, in contrast with analysts' expectations that it would quickly move to seek approval for a further increase in its stake and launch an open offer.

In his first interview since the deal concluded in September, Rajeev Kannan, group executive officer and head of SMBC Group's India division, said the bank is focused on contributing to Yes Bank's growth as its largest shareholder and board member, and does not intend to take on an executive role in the lender.

"We are not actively looking at increasing our stake in Yes Bank beyond the regulatory permissible limit of 24.99%," Kannan said. "There are many areas which Yes Bank still needs to work on, and we need to ensure that those areas, which they have a plan to address, are being executed."

Kannan said that Yes Bank needs to improve on its cost of funds, return on assets and return on equities as compared to its peers.

The bank's current holding in Yes Bank stands at 24.2%.

Under India's takeover regulations, acquiring 25% or more in a listed company triggers a mandatory open offer to purchase at least an additional 26% from public shareholders, potentially resulting in a majority stake of 51%.

In August, SMBC received Reserve Bank of India's approval to buy up to a 24.99% stake in Yes bank from State Bank of India SBI.NS and seven other shareholders after having inked a deal in May to purchase a 20% stake for $1.6 billion, in the country's largest cross-border financial sector merger and acquisition.

Kannan said that State Bank of India has agreed to stay on a significant shareholder with the current shareholding of 10.8%.

Shares of Yes Bank dropped over 4% to 22.1 rupees after the report. They were trading 0.8% lower before the news. The bank's shares are still up more than 20% since the deal was announced in May this year.

BROADER INDIA PLANS

The group, which has investments worth $7 billion in India, intends to keep its existing non-bank lending business SMFG Credit separate from its investment in Yes Bank.

"We have made a significant investment into the NBFC platform and our intention is to scale it up," Kannan said.

"In future, there is a possibility that things could be more integrated maybe. But we haven't basically focused on that. Our intention is to look at each entity on its own strength at this point in time," he said.

SMFG Credit had assets under management totaling $6.5 billion as of March 31, 2025.

Kannan said the group has not applied to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India and continues to evaluate the plan.

India's banking regulator encourages but does not mandate foreign banks to set up "wholly-owned" subsidiaries in India by allowing them rights on par with domestic banks.

A wholly-owned subsidiary has capital that is ring-fenced from the parent bank.

SMBC Group also sees opportunities in the wealth management and investment bank businesses in India, through Yes Bank and its securities platform. The group may also consider asset management business as an area of growth in future, given their holding in Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, added Kannan.

(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kim Coghill)

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MUMBAI, Oct 16 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS (SBI) plans to raise up to 75 billion rupees ($855.2 million), which includes a greenshoe option of 25 billion rupees, through sale of Basel III-compliant tier II bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The state-run bank has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Friday, and will have a call option at the end of five years, they said.

The lender did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on October 16:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.7030 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - India's largest bank is set to return to the rupee debt market after a year with plans to raise funds through Basel III-compliant tier II bonds this month, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

State Bank of India SBI.NS is in advanced stages of issuing the bonds with a 10-year duration to raise as much as 75 billion rupees (about $845.7 million), the sources said. The lender may invite bids before the end of the month, they added.

SBI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media.

The bonds will have a call option at the end of five years, and at the end of every year thereafter, the sources said.

"The issue would be priced as per a five-year instrument, and currently, there is sufficient gap between five-year and 10-year bond yields, which must have pushed them towards the shorter tenor," one of the sources said.

Merchant bankers said that mutual funds could bid aggressively for the issue.

SBI had planned the tier II bond issue by August but delayed it due to the rise in yields. The bank also shelved an infrastructure bond issue in March due to elevated yields.

($1 = 88.6870 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia, Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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By Bharath Rajeswaran and Nishit Navin

BENGALURU, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Indian banks are poised to report subdued earnings for the September quarter, weighed down by tepid loan demand across retail and corporate segments and margin contraction due to rate cuts by the central bank, analysts said.

The Reserve Bank of India has lowered its interest rate by 100 basis points this year to revive consumption and investment amid a slowing economy. Rate cuts tend to squeeze banks' margins in the short term, as lenders reduce loan rates faster than they adjust deposit rates.

Analysts forecast private banks to post a year-on-year decline in profit in the September quarter, while net interest income (NII) may see only a marginal uptick.

Sector-wide profit is forecast to fall 7%-12% year-on-year in the quarter, with state-owned banks underperforming larger peers.

Jefferies estimates profits of large banks will fall 12% year-on-year, after posting an 8% growth in the year-ago quarter and a marginal 2% growth in the June quarter.

The brokerage forecasts 5% drop in profit for private lenders and a 20% decline for public sector banks. It expects loan growth at roughly 11% and a flat NII.

Axis Bank AXBK.NS will kick off the banking sector earnings on October 15, followed by Federal Bank FED.NS, ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, IDFC Bank IDFB.NS, IndusInd Bank INBK.NS later in the week.

"Asset quality trends are likely to remain stable due to controlled slippages and robust provision coverage ratios," said Nitin Aggarwal of Motilal Oswal.

Nomura added that stress in unsecured retail and microfinance portfolios remains elevated but delinquency trends are improving, although a gradual profit recovery is likely from the second half of fiscal 2026.

Loan growth is expected to remain muted at around 10% in the September quarter, with corporate and big-ticket retail demand still soft.

Rising bond yields are also likely to weigh on treasury income. "With bond yields rising, treasury gains will not cushion earnings in the September quarter," Axis Securities said.

Analysts expect a recovery from the second half of fiscal year 2026, driven by stronger consumption, government tax relief, and faster growth in unsecured credit.

"We expect the September quarter to mark a turning point, with earnings momentum improving from the December quarter onwards as margin pressure eases and asset quality trends strengthen," said Ankit Bihani, analyst at Nomura.

With the RBI keeping rates unchanged in recent meetings, banks' margins are expected to get some relief from the ongoing quarter as borrowing costs fall and deposit rates adjust.

Banks .NSEBANK, private lenders .NIFPVTBNK and state-owned banks .NIFTYPSU have gained 10.1%, 10.6% and 15% year-to-date, outperforming the Nifty 50's .NSEI 6% rise.

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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** Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services SBIC.NS rise 2.5% to 927 rupees, highest since July 14

** RBI proposes to reduce risk weights on some loans like housing and credit cards

** Risk weighted assets reduce to 75% from 150% is positive for SBI Cards, will release almost 450bps of capital - Macquarie

** Motilal Oswal says corporate, retail spends to grow at a healthy pace after GST cuts; expects SBIC asset quality to improve gradually

** Stock rated "hold" on avg by 25 analysts covering it; median PT at 935 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, SBIC up 40% vs Nifty Financial index's .NIFTYFIN nearly 14% rise

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

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** Shares of KPI Green Energy KPIG.NS rise 2% to 474.40 rupees

** Renewable power generation co secures sanction of 32 bln rupees ($361.1 mln) from State Bank of India SBI.NS

** The funds will part-finance development of 250 MW solar project and 370 MW hybrid project in Gujarat

** Projects are secured by 25-year long-term power purchase agreements with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam

** Trading vol so far is more than 613,700 vs 30-day average of 472,826

** KPIG down ~13% YTD

($1 = 88.6190 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

** Investors in Indian markets should focus on a mix of sustainable growth outperformers and value stocks during current low-growth phase, says CLSA

** Brokerage identifies Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS as top large-cap picks among lenders

** Forecasts BJFN to post mid-20% loan growth in FY25, alongside improving margins and lower credit costs

** Despite slower overall credit growth, CLSA calls BJFN a structural growth story, projecting around 20% profit growth through FY25–27, mirroring earlier years

** Also terms SBI "a truly valuable" stock due to consistent outperformance over peers, valuation comfort, sustainable loan growth and improving asset quality

** Predicts SBI could reach $100 billion market cap within a year and Bajaj Finance in 2-3 years

** BJFN up ~2% on Tues while SBI gains 0.6% vs 0.4% drop in benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI

** BJFN up 48% in 2025 and SBI gains 8%, outperforming NSEI's 6.2% rise YTD

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

• A rate cut of 25 basis points next week would be the best possible option for the RBI, State Bank of India says

• "There is merit and rationale in going for a September rate cut. This will but require calibrated communication by the RBI as post June, the bar for rate cut is indeed higher," says Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor

• RBI's three-day meeting starts next week, with the decision due on October 1

• Ghosh says inflation will continue to remain benign even in FY27, so there is no point in committing an error like August, where rate was not reduced with a neutral policy stance

• Rate cut next week will also project RBI as forward-looking central bank - Ghosh

• In June, RBI cut rate by 50 bps but changed stance to neutral, while in August it maintained status quo

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia)

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Adds details from release and context.

TOKYO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T has agreed to buy an additional 4.2% stake in India's Yes Bank YESB.NS from an affiliate of Carlyle Group CG.O for 51 billion yen ($349 million), it said on Wednesday.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan's second-largest lender by assets, also said it had now completed its acquisition of an initial 20% stake in the Mumbai-based bank, in a deal first announced in May.

SMBC had received approval from India's central bank to buy up to 24.99% of Yes Bank in August, and India's competition regulator approved the purchase earlier this month.

State Bank of India SBI.NS, in a separate disclosure, said it has received 88.89 billion rupees ($1 billion) from the completion of the sale of its 13.19% stake in Yes Bank to SMBC.

SMBC also sold its entire 1.65% stake in Indian private-sector commercial bank Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS as of September 10 in order to "rebalance its strategic investment portfolio," it said.

SMBC had acquired part of its initial 20% stake in Yes Bank from Kotak Mahindra Bank.

($1 = 146.2800 yen)

($1 = 87.8340 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anton Bridge
Editing by Mark Potter and Joe Bavier)

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Corrects name of CFO to Salim Yahoo from Sahil Yahoo in paragraph 4

By Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - India's KPI Green Energy KPIG.NS is set to raise 32 billion rupees ($363.39 million) through a loan from the country's largest lender to expand production capacity at its renewable power plants, top KPI executives told Reuters on Tuesday.

The loan approval comes amid the Indian government's green energy push targeting 500 gigawatts of non-fossil capacity by 2030, and, according to analysts, stands out as one of the larger deals in the sector's recent history.

KPI Green Energy develops, builds, and manages renewable power facilities, specialising in solar, wind and hybrid power solutions.

The company is raising the funds via a 20-year loan at an interest rate of 8.45% from the State Bank of India, which will be disbursed in a staggered manner over the next 1.5 years, Chief Financial Officer Salim Yahoo told Reuters.

"By 2027, we will finish all our projects in hand in IPP", said Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Faruk G. Patel, referring to its Independent Power Producer business, "which will generate about 10 billion rupees in revenue."

The company also issued its first green bond on Tuesday, planning to raise 6.7 billion rupees at a coupon of 8.5% per annum.

The rupee-denominated five-year bond was externally credit-enhanced - its rating was given a boost by a 65% guarantee from GuarantCo, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company.

"Without the guarantee, we would have had to pay a 14-15% coupon to raise funds via equity or quasi-equity instruments," Patel said.

The guarantee effectively raised the instrument's credit rating from A+ to AA+ rating by CRISIL and ICRA, Yahoo said.

Aseem Infrastructure Finance subscribed to a majority of the bonds, while Jio Finance and SBI Capital Markets took the rest, Yahoo added.

SBI Capital Markets was the sole arranger for the issue, the executives said.

($1 = 88.0587 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Sept 11 (Reuters) - ACME Solar Holdings Ltd ACMO.NS:

• ACME SOLAR HOLDINGS LTD - SECURES 38.92 BILLION RUPEES FUNDING FOR 400 MW PROJECT FROM SBI

Source text: ID:nBSE341PPz

Further company coverage: ACMO.NS

(([email protected];))

By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Favourable pricing of U.S. dollar bonds issued by India's biggest lender has spurred expectations of more firms tapping the overseas market, with three companies preparing to raise about $1 billion in total this month, bankers and analysts said.

Indian dollar bond yields have dropped after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the country's sovereign rating to "BBB" from "BBB-" in mid-August, the first upgrade in 18 years.

State Bank of India SBI.NS sold $500 million in five-year dollar bonds earlier this week at a yield just 75 basis points over that on corresponding U.S. Treasuries — the lowest spread ever for an Indian issuer, Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said on Tuesday.

"The tight pricing has demonstrated reduction in the borrowing cost for Indian issuers," Setty said.

India's rating upgrade, "coupled with potential lower U.S. Treasury yields on expectations of impending Fed rate cuts, might make dollar fundraising relatively more competitive in the near term," said Shoaib Ahmed, director, debt capital markets at ANZ.

Two non-bank lenders — Hero Fincorp HERO.NS and Credila Financial Services HDFR.NS — and state-run Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS plan to launch dollar bond issues, aiming to raise a combined $1 billion through up to five-year notes, according to bankers.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters' emails seeking comment.

"We do anticipate more issuances over the next four months, both from banks and non-banking financial companies, if current strong market conditions continue," said Pramod Shenoi, head of Asia Pacific research at research firm CreditSight.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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Changes sourcing to company statement, adds coupon rate in paragraph 2

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS has raised $500 million by issuing dollar-denominated bonds maturing in five years, the lender said on Tuesday, days after S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign credit rating for the first time in 18 years.

India's largest lender by assets will pay a semi-annual coupon of 4.50% on the dollar bonds, which will be issued through its London branch and listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) at GIFT City, the lender said.

The notes will be rated 'BBB' by S&P, in line with the issuer's ratings.

Last month, the global rating agency upgraded India's long-term sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'.

Yields on the dollar bonds of SBI, widely considered as a so-called quasi-sovereign issuer with credit ratings closely linked to the sovereign rating, had dropped after the upgrade, and will benefit the lender for fresh fundraising.

More favourable placement opportunities are arising for state-linked entities and a broader category of banks and non-banking finance companies, said Maksim Zenkov, deputy head of emerging markets fixed income at financial data aggregator Cbonds.

"The upward trend in the government bond yields serves as an additional stimulus to consider tapping the dollar debt market."

In November 2024, SBI raised $500 million through five-year dollar bonds at a yield of 5.13%, which was at a spread of 82 bps over Treasury yield with similar maturity, the tightest spread achieved by the lender, per bankers.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Nishit Navin; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Janane Venkatraman and Devika Syamnath)

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - Moneyboxx Finance Ltd MONB.BO:

• RAISES 340 MILLION RUPEES FROM STATE BANK OF INDIA

Source text: ID:nBSE9N7DSB

Further company coverage: MONB.BO

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By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sethuraman N R

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - High U.S. tariffs and potential anti-dumping duties on Indian solar panel exports will exacerbate a supply glut in India next year as domestic project bidding slows, according to industry officials and analysts.

U.S. President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on shipments from India will choke panel sales to its top overseas market, which accounts for 90% of module exports, they said.

The situation could deteriorate further if anti-dumping duties are imposed on some manufacturers following a petition filed on July 17 by U.S. solar companies with the Commerce Department seeking duties on imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos.

"The 50% tariff will squeeze margins, and potential anti-dumping duties will make competing in the U.S. even tougher," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of clean energy consultancy Mercom Capital.

India's awards of solar generation projects and new tenders slowed dramatically in the quarter ended June, with an adviser to the federal power ministry urging renewable developers to bid cautiously in line with demand growth projections.

"We expect that India will enter overcapacity stage already in 2026, which will feel even worse with the loss of the U.S. market," said Wood Mackenzie analyst Yana Hryshko.

New Delhi's incentives — including import duties and domestic manufacturing mandates — helped double module production capacity annually to 74 gigawatts by March. State Bank of India Capital Markets projects this will reach 190 GW by 2027.

India's solar module factories are already running at only 25% of total capacity on average, said Vinay Rustagi, chief business officer of manufacturer Premier Energies PEME.NS.

"Some companies are running at 80%-85% like us, others are running at much lower capacity," he said.

CHINA CELL IMPORTS

If anti-dumping duties are imposed, Indian manufacturers must either find alternative markets or supply domestically, Hryshko noted.

Finding new markets will be challenging. Indian solar modules made using Chinese cells are 48% more expensive than China-made modules, while those using Indian cells are roughly 143% more expensive, Mercom data shows.

India has capitalised on an 82% decline in prices of Chinese cells since late 2022 and steadily boosted exports of modules, energy think-tank Ember said.

The local solar module manufacturing push has helped companies such as Waaree WAAN.NS and Adani ADEL.NS increase lucrative U.S. exports. But it has also pushed up solar generation costs, which are passed on to debt-laden power retailers.

India plans to mandate domestic cell use from June 2026, despite these costing over three times more than Chinese alternatives, according to Fei Chen, an analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy.

Analysts say the move may trigger increased Chinese imports before the rules take effect.

"Reliance on cell imports is likely to increase in the short term, potentially leading to stockpiling, price spikes, and supply chain pressures," Mercom's Prabhu said.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore and Sethuraman NR in New Delhi; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

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Aug 25 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender by assets, has requested the Reserve Bank of India to allow banks to finance acquisitions, its chairperson said on Monday.

Under current regulations, Indian banks are barred from lending for mergers and acquisitions, pushing companies to rely on non-banking financial firms or raise funds through bonds to finance such deals.

SBI Chairperson Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said at an industry event that the bank has requested the RBI to consider allowing acquisition financing, starting with large listed companies.

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Adds comments from Ambani spokesperson in paragraph4

MUMBAI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency said on Saturday it had opened a criminal case against industrialist Anil Ambani and his company Reliance Communications Ltd RLCM.NS following a complaint by India's largest bank about alleged fraud.

State Bank of India SBI.NS alleged that Anil Ambani, the younger brother of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and Reliance Communications defrauded the bank, causing 30 billion Indian rupees ($344 million) of losses.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation conducted search operations in Mumbai at Anil Ambani's house and the offices of the now insolvent Reliance Communications, the agency said in a press statement.

A spokesperson for Ambani told Reuters that the searches at his residence concluded early this afternoon. "Mr. Ambani strongly denies all allegations and charges, and will duly defend himself," the spokesperson said.

The agency said Anil Ambani and his company misused and diverted bank funds for purposes other than what was agreed.

An email query to SBI was not answered immediately.

Last month, India's Enforcement Directorate also searched 35 locations linked to Reliance Group as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering and siphoning of public funds, a government source told Reuters.

Reliance Group did not respond to a request for comment at the time, but a source at the group denied the allegations.

($1 = 87.3260 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay. Editing by Mark Potter)

(([email protected]; 9920092491; Reuters Messaging: Twitter: @jaysh88))

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL.NS:

• DEFAULT IN PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL & INTEREST OF BANKS BY MTNL

• PRINCIPAL OVERDUE AT 18.73 BILLION RUPEES, INTEREST OVERDUE AT 8.65 BILLION RUPEES

• TOTAL OUTSTANDING BORROWINGS FROM BANKS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AT 86.59 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9yF4FP

Further company coverage: MTNL.NS

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** India's equity benchmarks inch higher; Nifty .NSEI and Sensex .BSESN up 0.3% each

** State Bank of India SBI.NS, Tata Motors TAMO.NS among top four boosts for Nifty after Q1 earnings

** Uncertainty over U.S. tariffs keeps gains capped; investors wait for U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's meeting later this week

** Fourteen of the 16 major sectors advance; mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 up 0.4% while small-caps .NIFSMCP100 flat

** SBI up 2.2% on better-than-expected Q1 thanks to higher treasury profits and curtailed expenses, while TAMO adds 2.4% on unchanged outlook for JLR

** Among other stocks, Yatra Online YATR.NS soars 20% as Q1 profit jumps nearly four-fold y/y

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

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Rewrites, adds chairman comments and details throughout

By Ashwin Manikandan and Nishit Navin

Aug 8 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS is confident that corporate loan growth will quicken to double-digit percent despite U.S. tariff-related turmoil, its chairman said on Friday, after treasury profits helped the country's top bank beat earnings estimates.

U.S. President Donald Trump on August 6 imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50% - among the highest of any U.S. trading partner.

While SBI will face limited direct business impact from U.S. tariffs, uncertainty stemming from the levies could slow businesses down, which could delay investment decisions, chairman CS Setty told reporters.

Better-rated companies in Asia's third-largest economy are making a beeline for the corporate bond market, where they can often borrow at cheaper interest rates, posing a challenge for banks.

"When we look at our disbursement pipeline, it gives us confidence that 10% corporate growth is definitely a possibility this year," Setty said.

Corporate loans make up a third of SBI's total domestic loan book and grew 5.7% from a year earlier in the June quarter.

Earlier in the day, the state-run bank reported a net profit of 191.60 billion rupees (about $2.2 billion) for the quarter, driven by a near tripling of treasury profits and curtailed expenses.

The profit rose 12% from a year earlier and was higher than analysts' average estimate of 175.52 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

SBI's net interest income, the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits, declined by 0.1% year-on-year to 410.72 billion rupees.

Its operating expenses rose 8% year-on-year but fell 22% from the prior three months.

The bank's domestic net interest margin declined to 3.02% in the quarter from 3.22% in the previous three months and 3.35% a year earlier.

The Reserve Bank of India kept its key repo rate unchanged earlier this week after cutting it by 100 basis points since February.

In a falling interest rate environment, lenders typically pass on the rate cuts to borrowers, but deposit rates fall with a lag, compressing margins.

SBI's gross non-performing asset ratio rose slightly to 1.83% from 1.82% in the prior quarter but improved from 2.21% a year earlier.

($1 = 87.6975 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, July 29 (Reuters) - India's SBI Cards and Payment Services SBIC.NS accepted bids worth 20 billion rupees ($230.33 million) for bonds maturing in three years, three traders said on Tuesday.

It will pay a coupon of 7.05% and had invited commitment bids for the issue earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on July 29:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.8330 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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MUMBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - India's SBI Cards and Payment Services SBIC.NS plans to raise 20 billion rupees ($231.3 million) through the sale of bonds maturing in three years, three traders said on Monday.

It has invited coupon and commitment bids for the issue on Tuesday, they said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on July 28:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.4550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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July 25 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - RUMA DEY APPOINTED DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS

Source text: ID:nBSE4LDp48

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

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