Hindustan Copper's Ahmed Says Indian Companies May Borrow Abroad

Jun.16 (Bloomberg) –Shakeel Ahmed, chairman of Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCP), India's monopoly miner of the ore used to extract the metal, comments after the Reserve Bank of India today raised interest rates for the fourth time this year.

"The rate hike may hurt sales and profitability of Indian companies, and may also delay investment decisions. The impact will be felt across the board, but mostly in sectors like real estate, automobile and infrastructure.

"Companies will now expect to raise money overseas, because the cost of raising funds is lower.

"Hindustan Copper will need about 2.07 billion rupees ($46 million) in the 12 months ending March 2014 and I will prefer to raise it from overseas markets. The board will have to take the final decision."