Indian corporate foreign debt found willing investors in 2014, with a record $19bn being floated.

In a surprising move, India's sub-par bonds also saw activity with a record $5.5bn being sold.

In recent years, foreign debt has been seen as a less expensive way to raise debt as rupee funds continue to remain costly for a third year in a row.

Most of the issuers used the funds raised to retire their Rupee debts, according to reports.

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Reuters

Reliance Industry, the petro giant, secured $3.3bn in foreign debt, even as it sits on a 84,000 crore cash pile, to part fund its Rs1.8 tn Capex plan for the next three years.

Another petro giant, the state-owned ONGC, raised $3bn, with the nation's largest bank, State Bank of India, raising $1.25bn with coupon rate of 3.25%.

On an average, companies make clean savings of up to 6% in financing cost, say investment bankers who point to increased forex debt on the back of debt servicing cost, apart from a growing belief that US Fed could raise rates post April 2015.

Narendra Modi's government at the centre has also improved investor sentiment, say analysts, who expect the January to March quarter to see increased activity with more bond issuances, reports The Hindu.

However, the increased forex borrowing also raises the nation's external debt to a quarter of its GDP, at over $500bn.

Junk Bond

13 issuers, with sub-par rating were able to raise a record $5.5bn with coupon rates ranging from 4.25 (Motherson Sumi) to 8.85 per cent (Rolta.)