PFC to raise Rs 70k cr, mulls portfolio rejig
New Delhi: State-run lender Power Finance Corporation plans to raise Rs 70,000 crore during the current financial year through various borrowing instruments as it plans to recast its portfolio by expanding in transmission and renewable energy projects.
“Our funding for last mile transmission and distribution projects in states is increasing. The 24×7 power for all scheme alone envisages an investment of Rs 12 lakh crore. Besides, retrofitting of existing thermal units for making them more energy efficient and refinancing of old projects would throw up interesting opportunities,” company chairman Rajeev Sharma told reporters on Wednesday.PFC’s non-performing assets (NPAs) increased by 300% to Rs 30,718 crore, pushing the company in the red for the first time, largely due to a shift to the RBI’s norms. Assets worth Rs 59,000 crore were realigned as NPAs as a result.
He said transmission projects awarded to private companies through tariff-based competitive bidding would also be eligible for PFC loans. “We will design our products and lending in accordance with the increasing focus on T&D… The share of renewable energy is definitely increasing,” he said.
PFC reported a quarterly loss of Rs 3,409 crore during the fourth quarter of 2016-17. For the full fiscal 2016-17, profit fell 65% in a year to Rs 2,126 crore due to extra provisioning for loan. The percentage of gross NPAs to total loan assets stands at 12% for PFC in 2016-17 against 3.15% in the previous financial year.
Source:TOI
