External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from the foreign equity holder

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from the foreign equity holder

On a review, it has been decided to permit eligible borrowers to avail of ECB under the approval route from their foreign equity holder company with minimum average maturity of 7 years for general corporate purposes subject to the following conditions:

1. Minimum paid-up equity of 25 per cent should be held directly by the lender;
   
2. Such ECBs would not be used for any purpose not permitted under extant the ECB guidelines (including on-lending to their group companies / step-down subsidiaries in India); and
   
3. Repayment of the principal shall commence only after completion of minimum average maturity of 7 years. No prepayment will be allowed before maturity.

4. The above modifications to the ECB guidelines will come into force with immediate effect. All other aspects of extant ECB guidelines shall remain unchanged.