Avanse Financial Services Limited

Leading education loan provider Avanse Financial Services Limited has raised a multi-currency syndicated External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) facility equivalent to $200 million. Classified as a social loan, this ECB facility will be used to support students from economically weaker sections in pursuing their academic aspirations, the company said in a Thursday statement. ECB refers to commercial loans availed by eligible resident entities in India from recognised non-resident entities abroad. The education-focused NBFC (non-banking financial institution) said the transaction was jointly led by DBS Bank Limited, through its IFSC unit at GIFT City, and HSBC India as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the commercial loan, which drew participation from leading banks across Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UAE, and India. The deal included commitments of $141.3 million and a Japanese Yen tranche equivalent to $58.7 million, aggregating to $200 million.

Avanse is the second-largest non-banking financial company (NBFC) in the education loan segment with expertise in the overseas education loan segment. The NBFC’s board approved a rights issue to raise the amount in a meeting held on December 17, the people cited said. The rights issue plan comes after the NBFC dropped its initial public offering plan amid headwinds in the overseas education market.