FPIs bid aggressively for govt, corporate bonds

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) aggressively bid for the remaining auction of government and corporate bonds on Monday.

BSE auctioned Rs 5,481 crore of government bonds and Rs 3,360 crore of corporate bonds. The demand against these limits were around Rs 7,116 crore and Rs 5,898 crore, respectively. The highest bid in the corporate bonds segment was 25 basis points (bps), while the cut-off came at 15.25 bps. For government bonds, the highest was in the 3 bps, against the cut-off of 1.20 per cent. In the auction held on July 25, the cut-offs for government and corporate bonds were at 1.75 bps and 8 bps, respectively.

The auction fee indicates the amount investors are ready to pay to keep their rights open for buying bonds. As the limits have been almost exhausted, investors are bidding aggressively to mop up the residue amount. They have almost exhausted their borrowing limits in both segments. While in government bonds the utilised limit was 97 per cent, in corporate bonds, it was 98.57 per cent.