Bharti Airtel’s cost of funds likely to fall as yield softens

MUMBAI: The surge in prices of Bharti AirtelNSE -0.07 % securities wasn’t confined to India but spread overseas after an apex court ruling appeared to brighten its business prospects.

Perpetual bonds — a quasi-equity instrument — sold by the telecom company last October rallied Friday with yields plunging 61 basis points to the lowest since issuance on investor exuberance. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. This should lower funding costs for Bharti.

Long-term investors turned bullish expecting better financials from Bharti Airtel is anticipated to remain one of the two key phone companies in the Indian market, along with RelianceNSE -0.20 % Jio Infocomm. The third is Vodafone Idea.