The Rs 59,176-crore oil refining and marketing company's borrowings from overseas banks and financial institutions shot up to Rs 11,245.85 crore last year from Rs 9,033.98 crore in 1996-97. However, the jump in the long-term overseas borrowings was less dramatic in 1997-98 when compared to the 51 per cent increase in overseas borrowings in 1996-97.

The borrowings are reflected in Indian Oil's debt-to-equity ratio, which changed to 0.43:1 last year from 0.33:1 in 1996-97 and 0.24:1 in 1995-96. The corporation's interest payments moved up by 4.6 per cent to Rs 1,126 crore, compared with Rs 1,076 crore in the previous year.

The public sector enterprise, which was declared Asia's best sovereign borrower by `Euroweek' last year, raised $20 million from the National Bank of Oman, $45 million from ABN Amro Bank of the Netherlands, $10.58 millionfrom ANZ Grindlays Bank, $75 million from Sumitomo Bank of Japan and $5.3 million from the US Exim Bank. The ANZ Banking Group syndicated another $200 million of foreign currency borrowings for Indian Oil.

Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda loaned the company another $475 million from their foreign currency non-resident (B) [FCNR(B)] accounts. Indian Oil has been allowed an external commercial borrowing (ECB) ceiling of $3.5 billion, of which nearly $2 billion fund crude oil and petroleum product imports every year.

Last year, the canalising agency spent $2.008 billion to import crude oil, fuel products and lubricants, which was less than $2.043 billion spent for the same purpose in 1996-97. Industry sources say Indian Oil has, at present, barely exhausted half its external commercial borrowing limit.

In the year to March 31, 1998, the canalising agency imported 30.97 million tonnes of crude oil, 19.61 million tonnes of fuel products and 26,000 tonnes of lubricants. In the previous year,Indian Oil had imported 31.48 million tonnes of crude, 19.82 million tonnes of fuel products and 45,000 tonnes of lubricants.

The marginal drop in imports coincided with a massive slide in oil prices worldwide, which should have slashed Indian Oil's import bill, but for the more than 20 per cent depreciation of the Indian currency. Even so, the canalising agency's import bill did come down last year.

Its crude imports alone were worth Rs 14,508.74 crore in foreign exchange, which was 15.68 per cent lower than Rs 17,207.04 crore spent in the previous year. The imports by the corporation include Rs 7,690.41 crore (in f.o.b value) of crude bought for other oil companies.

In 1997 Indian Oil's foreign exchange outgo for crude canalised for other oil companies increased by 24 per cent to Rs 10,144.59 crore. The oil giant also imported crude oil worth Rs 1,521.35 crore under an agency agreement for Cochin Refineries, up 23 per cent from the previous year's figure.

Petroleum product imports by the companystood at Rs 12,440.05 crore last year, compared with Rs 15,108.80 crore in 1996-97. Lubricant purchases abroad were worth Rs 65.05 crore, compared with Rs 119.17 crore in 1996-97.

The dip in the import bill coincided with a drop in the foreign exchange earnings bill. Indian Oil earned Rs 1,307.84 crore in foreign exchange from 2.38 million tonnes of petroleum product exports last year. In 1996-97, the company had earned Rs 1,706.57 crore from 2.65 million tonnes of overseas product sales.

The oil refining and marketing giant, which has 55 per cent of the home market tucked under its arm, witnessed a 6.8 per cent growth in turnover and a 21 per cent rise in profit after tax in 1997-98. Indian Oil's profit after tax went up to Rs 1,706 crore last year from Rs 1,408 crore in 1996-97.