HUDCO Targets for Zero NPA in 18 Months: CMD

NEW DELHI: HUDCO, the Navratna CPSE under housing and urban affairs ministry, will become a zero non-performing asset (

NPA

) company by having no bad loans in its books in the next 18 months, its CMD

Sanjay Kulshrestha

said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters he added that they are confident of achieving this after resolution of Rs 1,200-odd worth of projects at the

National Company Law Tribunal

(NCLT) and Rs 400-odd crore at the

Debt Recovery Tribunal

.
HUDCO chief said, “There are some projects which are nearing resolution at the NCLT and other appellate bodies. Nearly 10 projects account for 80% of our NPAs. In the next 18 months or so, we hope to be a zero-NPA company. We are in talks with the borrowers to resolve these cases.”
He added that HUDCO has a gross NPA of 1.88% for FY25, down from the 3.36% in the same period a year ago whereas net NPA is just 0.27 %, down from the 0.49% in the corresponding period last year.

In a presentation, the CPSE said it has a loan book of nearly Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the nine-month period and a market-cap of nearly Rs 47,000 crore.
Kulshrestha said that after

Yen-denominated loans

of around Rs 5,360 crore in the current financial year, it is looking at newer geographies for

external commercial borrowing

(ECB) including dollar-denominated loans.
He added the company is seeking to raise funds from Japan, equalling $500 million (little over Rs 43,000 crore), as part of its growth strategy.
Kulshrestha said they would look at the fundraise from Japan towards the end of March, with interest rates at 6.1-6.4%, lower than funds it raises in the Indian market at an interest of nearly 7.4%. He added that Japan is offering amongst the most competitive rates including relaxed withholding tax norms.