NEW DELHI: Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) plans to borrow about Rs 8,000 crore in 2019-20 to fund its expansion plan, its chairman has said. HPCLNSE 2.37 % has shareholders’ approval for raising Rs 12,000 crore in debt but would borrow much less using a mix of various instruments such as foreign currency bonds and bank loans, chairman MK Surana said.
In 2018-19, the company borrowed about Rs 6,000 crore, split evenly between short-term and long-term loans. HPCL’s debt rose to Rs 27,240 crore at March-end from Rs 20,991 crore a year earlier. At March-end, the pending government dues on account of cooking gas and kerosene subsidy had bulged to Rs 8,000 crore, contributing to debt expansion in 2018-19. The government has since paid about Rs 2,000 crore to HPCL. The government’s reluctance to pay fuel subsidy in time has driven up debt levels at other oil marketing companies as well.
