Government telecom company BSNL has raised more than Rs 8,500 crore by issuing sovereign guarantee bonds. Government funds and public sector banks participated in this issue of the company. The government had approved the issuance of sovereign guarantee bonds worth Rs 8,500 crore for the revival of the public sector telecom company.
BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P.K. Purwar told reporters on Monday that the company was also planning to sell assets worth Rs 18,000 crore a year. He hoped that the loss-making company will come to operating profit position in FY 2021.
“We opened the bond at 10:30 am and closed at 12 am,” he said. The bond received more than double subscription. We received bids in excess of Rs 17,170 crore, but we accepted only Rs 8,500 crore depending on the approved size of the bond. BSNL received 229 bids worth Rs 17,183 crore for this. These bonds have been issued for 10 years at a coupon rate of 6.79 percent per annum.
BSE said in a statement that BSNL successfully completed its first bond issue and raised Rs 8,500 crore by issuing bonds on the basis of personal planning through the BSE bond platform. ICICI Prudential Bond, National Pension Scheme, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank participated in the bond issue of BSNL. Purwar said that SBI directly contributed Rs 1,500 crore to this issue.
