FIIs Place Bids Worth Rs 1,995 Crore for Government Bonds

New Delhi: Signalling strong demand for government bonds, overseas investors today placed bids of Rs 1,995 crore for the debt securities worth Rs 617 crore put under the auction.

The auction held at 'NSE-ebid' platform for allocation of investment limits in government debt securities worth Rs 617 crore ($99.11 million). The auction attracted bids for Rs 1,995 crore ($320.46 million), as per the bourse.

As many as 56 bids were placed during the two-hour auction, of which 20 were declared successful. The debt auction quotas give overseas investors the right to invest in debt up to the limit purchased.

The total overseas investments in government debt securities through auction route had 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 had decided to conduct an auction for the allocation of unutilised debt limits.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have so far put in over Rs 31,000 crore in the debt market in 2015. The equity market has also seen similar trends with overseas fund inflows of Rs 19,795 crore since the beginning of the year.

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