The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Thursday launched the NHAI masala bond issue on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to an overwhelming response from a wide range of investors, some of them first timers.
The initial benchmarked issue of Rs. 1,500 crore was upsized to Rs. 3,000 crore by 3.00 PM (GMT) Thursday at a price yielding 7.30 percent annually in view of the highly positive response from the investor market. The transaction marks the largest ever, five-year issuance and the largest inaugural transaction in masala bond market. Some of the leading investors were still showing interest in the NHAI issue who may be brought into the fold in the near future.
It is interesting to note that the NHAI masala bond issue has attracted investors from across the spectrum with Asia contributing 60 percent of the subscription and the balance 40 percent coming from Europe. Further, 61 percent of the amount comes from fund managers or insurance, 18 percent from banks and 21 percent from others. The spectrum of investors shows bright prospects for masala bonds as an instrument of raising rupee-denominated resources internationally. On the occasion, the LSE presented a memento to Nitin Gadkari.
Gadkari also started the day's trading at the LSE on Thursday.
(PIB statement)
