Friday, July 27, 2007

ADB in talks with India on currency swap

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is in talks with India about a currency swap that would help fund infrastructure projects without adding to the inflows that are complicating monetary policy, senior officials said on Thursday.

Officials from the Manila-based ADB told the media on a visit to Mumbai a dollar-rupee currency swap could help fund India's infrastructure development needs, now estimated at $475 billion over five years, without currency risk to the end-user.

India's strong rate of economic growth and soaring stock market is attracting billions of dollars in direct and portfolio foreign investment, pushing up the rupee and causing a monetary policy headache for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Read more in The Economic Times