Informist, Thursday, Apr 25, 2024

By Sachi Pandey and Abhinaba Saha

MUMBAI – Axis Bank reclaimed its position as the country's top corporate bond arranger in Jan-Mar, after a gap of one quarter. The private sector bank helped raise 273.93 bln rupees through 58 deals during the quarter. On its own, it arranged 12 deals worth 96.41 bln rupees during the quarter, and helped mop up 22.87 bln rupees for Bajaj Finance and 20 bln rupees for Bajaj Housing Finance.

HDFC Bank, which was the top corporate bond arranger in Oct-Dec, slipped to the second spot in Jan-Mar. The bank helped arrange 44 deals worth 204.25 bln rupees in Jan-Mar. ICICI Bank climbed to the third spot in Jan-Mar, arranging 76 deals worth 180.21 bln rupees.

Axis Bank also emerged as the top corporate arranger for March and the year ended March. It arranged 175 deals worth 1.18 trln rupees in 2023-24 (Apr-Mar). ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank finished second and third by arranging deals worth 937.12 bln rupees and 768.64 bln rupees, respectively, in 2023-24.

MARCH

Axis Bank retained the top spot in March, arranging its own infrastructure bond issuance worth 38.51 bln rupees. The bank arranged 23 deals worth 129.6 bln rupees during the month.

HDFC Bank climbed to the second spot in March from third in February by arranging 15 deals worth 94.2 bln rupees. Besides arranging its own infrastructure bond issuance worth 29.10 bln rupees, the bank solely arranged bond deals worth 31.85 bln rupees for LIC Housing Finance, and ICICI Home Finance Co in March.

ICICI Bank slipped to the third spot, arranging 29 deals worth 93.83 bln rupees in March. The bank solely arranged five deals cumulatively worth 45.55 bln rupees for Tata Steel, DLF Home Development, LIC Housing Finance, Kotak Mahindra Prime, and Century Textiles and Industries.

ICICI Securities Primary Dealership stood fourth by arranging 16 deals worth 42.74 bln rupees. AK Capital Services, which arranged 13 deals worth 28.47 bln rupees in March, slipped to the fifth spot from fourth in February.

Fundraising through corporate bonds rose 37% from a month ago to 1.40 trln rupees in March as several companies rushed to tap the debt market before the end of the financial year, market participants said. The amount raised in March was the highest in a single month in 2023-24, Informist data showed. The last time funds raised through corporate bonds came close to 1.4 trln rupees was in July 2023.

Offerings by state-owned entities remained strong during the month at 385 bln rupees, against 380 bln rupees in February. Of the total, public sector companies issued short to medium-term bonds worth 282.8 bln rupees through bonds.

Yields on corporate bonds fell in March due to easing liquidity conditions and strong investor demand, dealers said. Yields on bonds issued by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development maturing in three and 10 years fell about 4-5 basis points, while those maturing in five years remained steady.

Following is a list of corporate bond arrangers in order of the quantum arranged in Jan-Mar:

Following is a list of corporate bond arrangers in order of the quantum arranged in March:

End

Edited by Avishek Dutta

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.