SBI retail bonds a huge hit, raise Rss 8,580 crore

MUMBAI: State Bank of India’s (SBI) retail bond issue was oversubscribed several times in all segments — retail, high net worth individuals (HNIs) and qualified institutional buyers ( QIPs )). SBI’s chief financial officer Hemant Contractor, while confirming the news, said, “The response to the issue has been very good.

The issue has been oversubscribed 7-8 times.” Sources at Kotak Mahindra Bank , one of the merchant bankers to the issue, said that the bank has received subscriptions for Rs 8,580 crore. The issue, which opened for subscription on February 21, closed on Tuesday. The retail portion was oversubscribed five times as the subscription touched Rs 5,000 crore and the HNI segment was oversubscribed seven times to Rs 3,500 crore. The bank received a subscription of Rs 1,000 crore in the qualified institutional buyers’ category.

The Rs 2,000-crore bond issue — Rs 1,000 crore offer for retail investors and Rs 500 crore each to HNIs and qualified institutional investors — has an option to retain retail subscription of up to Rs 10,000 crore. This issue is part of the Rs 10,000-crore retail bond programme SBI has planned for FY11 through FY12. Already the bank had raised Rs 1,000 crore in the first tranche of the issue last October, which was oversubscribed 19 times. That was the first retail bond offering in the country by a corporate entity.

Source: EconomicTimes