Bharti Telecom, the parent company of India’s second-largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel, has achieved a significant milestone by completing the country’s largest domestic bond issuance of FY26. The company successfully raised ₹10,500 crore through a two-tranche bond offering, marking a record-breaking achievement in India’s corporate debt market.
The offering comprised two equal tranches of ₹5,250 crore each — a 24‑month bond priced at 7.31% and a 38‑month bond priced at 7.43%. Both came in slightly below the initial guidance of 7.35% and 7.45%, a testament to the strong investor demand that generated bids worth ₹18,015 crore, far exceeding the available allocation.
Strong Institutional Participation
Investment interest was dominated by leading mutual funds and insurers. Major mutual funds such as ICICI Prudential, Aditya Birla, DSP, and Nippon India anchored the shorter-duration tranche. Meanwhile, long-term investors like SBI Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance took the lead in subscribing to the longer-tenure bond.
Standard Chartered and Barclays served as the bankers to this landmark issue.
The stellar response reflects the growing market confidence following Bharti Telecom’s AAA credit rating upgrade by CRISIL Ratings in July 2025. The upgrade was driven by continued improvements in the business and financial profiles of Bharti Airtel, where Bharti Telecom retains a 40.47% stake.
Strategic Debt Refinancing
The raised capital will primarily go toward refinancing ₹9,750 crore of maturing debt scheduled between November and December 2025. This initiative is part of Bharti Telecom’s strategic focus on optimizing its capital structure and lowering financing costs.
The company managed to achieve its lowest-cost fundraising in four years, helped by a 100 basis‑point policy rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India earlier in 2025.
This transaction not only strengthens Bharti Telecom’s debt maturity profile but also supports continued investments in India’s fast-growing telecom and digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Boost to India’s Corporate Bond Market
Bharti Telecom’s issuance contributed to a record-breaking day for India’s corporate debt market, where companies together raised over ₹17,500 crore on Tuesday. The broader market momentum continues, with Indian corporates raising a record ₹4.07 trillion in the first four months of FY26 — signaling robust investor appetite for high-quality corporate bonds amid supportive interest rate conditions.
