NSPCL bonds to hit market soon VYING FOR CHEAPER FUND

Delhi-based NTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd (NSPCL) is in the process of issuing its maiden bonds; the company has asked bankers for underwriting bids.

The plan is to raise ~1,500 crore. The first tranche would be for ~250 crore with a greenshoe option of another ~250 crore, confirmed NSPCL Chief Financial Officer S V Shahi.

The reason for the firm, a joint venture between NTPC and Steel Authority of India, for hitting the bond market route is low cost of fund, Shahi said. The firm is already in the term loan arrangement with banks but wants to explore the bond market route to evaluate if this route is cheaper. The firm has secured “AA” rating from agencies | | | | NSPCL plans to raise ~1,500 crore First tranche would be for ~250 crore with a greenshoe option of another ~250 crore The reason for hitting the bond market route is low cost of fund The firm has secured “AA” rating from agencies and bond dealers say the issuance will be an easy success in the privately placed market.

So is the case with other entities who are hitting the bond market | | | Bond dealers say the issuance will be an easy success in the privately placed market The latest entrants in the bond market are municipal corporations At 7.59%, the bond is attractively priced and is a direct competition for most corporates route, from special purpose vehicles of companies to road projects, a lot many entrants are coming to the corporate bond market to raise funds, 95 per cent of which are through the privately placed route.

The latest entrants are municipal corporations, Pune being the first one in 14 years to have issued a bond. At 7.59 per cent, the bond is attractively priced and is a direct competition for most corporates. New Delhi Municipal Council (7.59 per cent) could be the next in queue. This year since January to May 31, companies outside the consumer finance and non-infrastructure financial services business have raised ~55,297 crore, against ~40,095 crore raised in the corresponding period last year. The coupon paid was between 6.5 per cent and 24 per cent.

In the past two years, a lot of new names have started accessing the bond market. Many of them are special purpose vehicles (SPVs) engaged in roads, ports and special economic zone projects. More often than not, these SPVs are floated by reputed companies such as Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Tata Power and Sterlite Power, but the SPVs are raising money, based on their own business case and not riding on the parent’s balance sheet. State government entities have also become active in the bond space.

Kudgi Transmission (L&T Infrastructure Development Projects), East-North Interconnection Company (Sterlite Power), Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation, Hazaribagh Ranchi Expressway (IL&FS Transportation), Maithon Power (Tata Power), Jhajjar Power, Oriental Nagpur Betul Highway are the new entrants in the Indian corporate bond market space, dominated by financial services and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).