In a surprised lukewarm response after months of over-subscription, government debt securities today attracted bids worth Rs 2,957 crore from foreign investors as against securities to the tune of Rs 3,340 crore on offer in an online auction.
The auction was conducted on NSE's ebid platform from 1530 hours to 1730 hours, after the close of market hours. At the end of the two-hour auction, 40 bids were declared successful.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have bid for investment limits in government debt securities worth Rs 2,957 crore as against bonds worth Rs 3,340 crore on offer, as per the information available with the exchange.
Government bonds to the tune of Rs 383 crore were left after the auction.
The government debt securities have received tepid response after a long time. During the earlier auctions, government bonds had subscribed multiple times, given the huge interest among foreign investors.
The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in the debt, up to the limit purchased.
To boost inflows of foreign funds, the limit for overseas investors in central government was hiked to Rs 1.4 lakh crore from April 4 and it will be further increased to Rs 1.44 lakh crore from July 5. Earlier, the limit was Rs 1,35,400 crore.
