NSE picks up stake in debt market portal

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, JUNE 29. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has acquired a 30 per cent equity stake in debtonnetindia.com, a portal promoted by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS). The acquisition is for a total consideration of just over Rs. 1 crore.

An agreement formalising NSE's strategic investment alliance was signed between the two entities in Mumbai today. The total project cost is Rs. 5 crores with an initial cost of Rs. 3.5 crores. The portal, an online market for wholesale primary debt, was launched by IL&FS in April this year. According to Mr. Ravi Parthasarathy, vice-chairman and managing director, IL&FS, the portal was created to enable any issuer or arranger to host primary debt offerings on the net.

The project has been housed in a separate corporate entity in which a broad spectrum of financial institutions and market players could participate. Since its launch in April, four issuances worth around Rs. 600 crores have been posted on the site. The most recent issue posted on the site was the Konkan Railway bond issue. The site currently has around 110-120 registered members.

The web site is expected to change the way the private placement debt market operates in India, transforming it from the current informal telephonic market to a more transparent web driven system where qualified institutional investors (QIIs) can bid for primary debt offers online. Dr. R. H. Patil, Managing Director, NSE, said the strategic investment in debtonnetindia.com is a logical move for the exchange as it would complement its developmental efforts for the debt market.

``With this e-infrastructure the debt market will no longer be Mumbai centric. It will revolutionise the way the primary market operates,'' he said adding that the portal will become an industry standard, drawing strength from a broadbase of market players.

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Section  : Business
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