NSE cancels auction of investment limits for Rs 8,295-cr corp bonds

Within hours of making an announcement, National Stock Exchange today cancelled the auction of investment limits for corporate bonds worth Rs 8,295 crore for FPIs after receiving a clarification from Sebi.

The auction was scheduled to take place tomorrow.

"The mock and live bidding session for corporate bond debt limit has been cancelled based on the clarification received from Sebi," NSE said in a circular without providing specific reasons for the cancellation.

NSE also did not give details about 'clarification' from Sebi.

The circular, issued in the evening, came hours after the exchange had announced auction of investment limits for overseas investors for the purchase of corporate bonds worth Rs 8,295 crore tomorrow.

The auction was to be conducted on NSE's e-bid platform from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm after the close of market hours, the exchange had said in the earlier circular.

The auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in debt up to the stipulated limit.

Till yesterday, the total investment in the corporate debt category had reached Rs 2,17,028 crore, which is 96.32 per cent of the total permitted threshold of Rs 2,25,323 crore, as per the latest update with depositories.

To make trading members accustomed to the bidding platform, the exchange was scheduled to conduct a mock bidding session today.

In an auction conducted on March 22, investment limits for corporate bonds had attracted bids to the tune of Rs 13,774 crore by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) against Rs 11,796 crore put on offer.