Cos garner Rs 30K cr via NCDs during April-December

Indian companies raised more than Rs 30,000 crore through retail issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal to meet business requirement. This is much higher than Rs 9,713 crore garnered by companies in the entire last fiscal. Most of the funds have been mobilised for expansion, to support working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes. NCDs are loan-linked bonds that cannot be converted into stock and usually offer higher interest rates than convertible debentures. As per the latest data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), as many as 11 firms raked in a total of Rs 30,422 crore through NCDs during the April-December period of 2015-16. Experts said volatile market conditions have forced many companies to opt for NCD route to garner fresh capital. Individually, National Highway Authority of India raised Rs 21,958 crore, as against the base size of Rs 1,000 crore. Indian Railway Finance Corporation mobilised Rs 4,532 crore against the target of Rs 1,000 crore.