State Bank of India buys nearly 40% of Reliance's $1.35 billion debt sale

By Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia MUMBAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) — State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, led the demand for Reliance Industries' 130-billion-rupee ($1.35 billion) 10-year debt sale completed on Wednesday, according to five sources familiar with the transaction. The state-run bank is estimated to have bought bonds worth nearly 50 billion rupees, or about 40% of the offering, they said. The bonds were rated "AAA" by rating agencies Crisil and CareEdge, and carried an annual coupon of 7.90%. An AAA rating is the highest credit rating, indicating an exceptionally strong capacity to meet debt obligations and a very low risk of default. Indian companies have accelerated domestic borrowing to secure funding costs before a potentially tighter monetary-policy stance from the Reserve Bank of India in the wake of high energy prices stoking inflation. The sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, SBI Pension Fund, and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance were among the largest investors in the issue, a source said. None of the companies responded immediately to Reuters emails seeking comment. Since.