Question

With reference to ‘IFC Masala Bonds’, sometimes seen in the news, which of the statements given below is/are correct?
1. The International Finance Corporation, which offers these bonds, is an arm of the World Bank.
2. They are the rupee-denominated bonds and are a source of debt financing for the public and private sector. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer 1

(c) (i) (a) The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, issued a $ 1,000 crore bond to fund infrastructure projects in India.
(b) These bonds were listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
(c) They are rupee-denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers.
(d) The purpose of the issue was to fund infrastructure projects in India. IFC named them ‘masala’ bonds to reflect the Indian angle to it.
(ii) First statement is right and Second statement initial part is also correct- they’re
rupee denominated and ‘debt’ type of instrument. We’ve to check whether public sector firms also use it. answer is yes. Hence both are correct.