EXIM Bank lines up $100 million credit for Covid vaccine cos

Hyderabad: The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has committed a credit line of $100 million for domestic manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines as well as supporting players, including manufacturers of raw materials, said N Ramesh, deputy managing director, Exim Bank, here on Friday.

“These loans are expected to be sanctioned by the end of this financial year to seven companies, of which two are from Hyderabad,” he said, adding that the credit line is expected to be used to boost manufacturing capabilities as well as for exports.

Two Hyderabad-based players — Bharat Biotech and Biological E Ltd — are involved in the development of Covid-19 vaccines. While Bharat Biotech has developed Covaxin, Bio E has developed Corbevax that is currently undergoing Phase-3 trials.

He pointed out the country is on track to achieve its exports target of $400 billion of merchandise goods this fiscal year and the pharma sector is expected to be a major contributor.

Meanwhile, he said the bank is targeting financing of $7 billion of project exports over the next five years through the funds received from the central government in the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA).

“The opportunity for Indian exporters remains significant given the fact that the project exporters have already developed substantial competitiveness in several sectors and the financing options provided by Exim Bank are well recognised,” he said.

Exim Bank had organized an interactive session with infra players in Hyderabad on Friday to discuss the opportunities and challenges in this area and over 50 companies from the region had participated.