L & T Raises 3-Mth Money At 6.55%

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today raised three-month money at five basis points higher than the bank rate by placing a Rs 10 crore commercial paper (CP) with a foreign bank at 6.55 per cent. This the lowest ever rate at which a CP has been raised.

On July 11 L&T had raised Rs 15 crore through a 90-day CP at 6.66 per cent. Both the issues are rated P1+ by Crisil.

In the secondary market, however, CPs are being traded just below the bank rate.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements -- rated AA+ by Crisil -- raised Rs 50 crore from the market through a five-year non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue at 8.10 per cent. This is the lowest ever coupon for an AA+ paper.

The Gujarat Ambuja issue, however, was rated Ind AAA by Fitch Ratings. It was launched on July 12 and closed today. The paper had a notified amount of Rs 25 crore and a greenshoe option of Rs 25 crore.

The sole arranger of the issue was ABN Amro Securities. The earlier lowest coupon deal was struck by Finolex Cables at 8.15 per cent for a three-year paper.

According to bond dealers, the excess liquidity in the system may drive down the yields of corporate papers further. The positive outlook has led the corporates to place floating rate bonds as well.

Rabo India Finance Private Ltd had recently privately placed a Rs 60 crore, five-year floating-rate NCD with a put-and-call option, it said in a statement.

The coupon is pegged at 20 basis points over the equivalent semi-annualised yields on an AAA-rated corporate bond for a maturity bucket of six months to one year as given by the Crisil bond valuation matrix.

The interest rate will be reset after six months and for the first six months it has been pegged at 7.64 per cent. Standard Chartered Bank was the sole arranger of the issue.

Alembic Ltd today launched a Rs 70 crore CP issue. It will be closed on Thursday. The company is waiting for a rating certificate from CARE. The outstanding short-term rating of the company is PR1+.