NSE to auction government bonds worth Rs 617 cr tomorrow

Leading bourse National Stock Exchange will auction tomorrow government debt securities worth Rs 617 crore for overseas investors, whose total investment has crossed 99 per cent of the permitted limit.

The auction would be conducted for overseas investors at 'NSE-ebid' platform for government debt securities, the exchange said in a circular.

The total overseas investments in government debt securities through auction route has touched Rs 1,23,815 crore till February 18, which is 99.5 per cent of total permitted limit of Rs 1,24,432 crore.

"Consequently, exchange shall conduct an auction for the allocation of unutilised debt limits on February 23, 2015," the circular said.

The auction will begin at 1530 hrs and close at 1730 hrs. A mock bidding session was conducted on Friday to check the system performance.

The debt auction quota give overseas investors the right to invest in debt up to the limit purchased.

Earlier this month, BSE had conducted auction for government bonds worth Rs 310 crore, which attracted bids to the tune of Rs 813 crore.

Foreign investors have so far put in over Rs 30,000 crore in the debt market in 2015. The equity market has also seen similar trends with overseas fund inflows of close to Rs 19,769 crore since the beginning of the year.

As per norms, foreign investors can purchase up to USD 25 billion in government debt without restrictions. Exchanges initiate the auction mechanism once overseas investors reach 90 per cent of that limit.