Bharat 22 ETF's offering subscribed over 10 times

The second follow-on issue of Bharat 22 Exchange Traded Fund (Bharat 22 ETF) was subscribed over 10 times on Thursday.

As of 7 pm on Thursday, the issue was subscribed over 10 times of the base issue size of ~3,500 crore, and the government has decided to retain approximately ~10,000 crore as its divestment proceeds, the Ministry of Finance tweeted.

Since its launch in November 2017, the government has raised ~22,900 crore through Bharat 22 ETF in two tranches.

The ETF tracks the Bharat 22 Index, comprising 22 companies — 19 public sector units and three private sector firms. Allocation to individual stock is capped at 15 per cent, and allocation for the sector is capped at 20 per cent.

Bharat 22 ETF has lost 8.79 per cent since its launch on November 17, 2017, to date. The ETF sale was part of the government’s efforts to meet its divestment target of ~80,000 crore.

This would be the second ETF offering by the government in the current financial year. In November last year, the government had raised ~17,000 crore through a follow-on offer of another exchange-traded fund — CPSE ETF, which comprises shares of 11 public sector enterprises.

On Wednesday, the government sold a portion of its stake in Axis Bank worth ~5,316 crore, which it held through the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India.

Since its launch in Nov 2017, the Centre has raised ~22,900 cr through Bharat 22 ETF in two tranches