Bharat 22 ETF's additional offering subscribed over ten times: Govt

Since its launch in Nov 2017, the Centre has raised Rs 22,900 cr through Bharat 22 ETF in two tranches

The second follow-on issue of Bharat 22 Exchange Traded Fund (Bharat 22 ETF) was subscribed over 10 times on Thursday.

The finance ministry said on Twitter that as of 7pm on Thursday the issue was oversubscribed over 10 times of base issue size of Rs 3,500 crore, and the government has decided to retain approximately Rs 10,000 crore as its divestment proceeds. Since its launch in November 2017, the government has raised Rs 22,900 crore through Bharat 22 ETF in two tranches.

The ETF tracks the Bharat 22 Index which comprises 22 companies: 19 public sector companies (PSUs) and three private sector firms. Allocation to individual stock is capped at 15 per cent, and allocation for the sector is capped 20 per cent.

Bharat 22 ETF has lost 8.79% since its launch on November 17, 2017, till date. The ETF sale was part of government’s efforts to meet its divestment target of Rs 80,000 crore.

This would be the second ETF offering by the government in the current fiscal which ends in March. In November last year, the government had raised Rs 17,000 crore through a follow-on offer of another exchange-traded fund -- CPSE ETF, which comprises shares of 11 public sector enterprises. 

On Wednesday the government sold a portion of its stake in Axis Bank worth Rs 5,316 crore that it held through the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India).