Indian Railway Finance Corporation to raise Rs 8,886 crore via tax-free bonds

State-run Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) today said it will raise over Rs 8,886 crore through tax-free bonds which will open for subscription on January 21. 

The issue of tax free, secured, redeemable, non-convertible bonds with a face value of Rs 1,000 will close on January 29, the company said in a statement.

IRFC will be issuing bonds up to an aggregate amount of Rs 8,886.4 crore through this issue out of the total permissible amount of Rs 10,000 crore as approved by its board through its resolution dated July 31, 2012.

"The funds raised through this issue will be utilized towards financing the acquisition of rolling stock which will be leased to the Railway Ministry in line with present business activities," the release said.

The bonds will carry a coupon rate of 7.68 per cent for retail investors including for 10 years and 7.84 per cent for 15 years. 

In case of qualified institutional buyers, non-institutional investors and high networth individuals, the interest rate stands at 7.18 per cent for 10 years and 7.34 per cent for 15 years.

The bonds are proposed to be listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, it said.

SBI Capital Markets, AK Capital Services, Axis Capital, ICICI Securities and Kotak Mahindra Capital are lead managers to the issue.