Companies raise nearly Rs 52,000 cr onBSE Bond platform during lockdown

Indian companies raised nearly Rs 52,000 crore from commercial papers and corporate bonds by using BSE's Bond platform during the lockdown period.

During the lockdown period starting March 23 till April 20, BSE Bond platform has helped in raising funds worth Rs 26,666 crore from commercial papers and Rs 25,323 crore from medium and long term bonds, the exchange said in a statement.

The issuers included six public sector companies and 21 private sector firms for commercial papers, and three public sector companies and 15 private sector firms for medium and long term bonds, it said.

BSE Bond platform allows corporates to remotely set up their issues and open for subscription seamlessly.

The investors can give their bids online and the settlement takes place in an automated way through Indian Clearing Corporation (ICCL).

During financial year 2019-20, the platform was used by 116 issuers for garnering over Rs 4.33 lakh crore from commercial papers, and by 121 issuers for raising bonds worth Rs 3.36 lakh crore.

The BSE Bond platform was launched on July 1, 2016 to facilitate online bidding for private placement of debt securities.

The platform, which allows all categories of investors to place bids, helps bring in transparency and efficiency in price discovery for private placement of debt securities.