Govt bonds oversubscribed; FPIs bid worth Rs 3,448 crore

New Delhi: An auction of government debt Monday attracted bids of a whopping Rs 3,448 crore from foreign investors, higher than securities put on offer, indicating a robust demand for such securities.

The auction, which was held on BSE's 'ebidxchange'for allocation of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) investment limits in government debt securities worth Rs 3,011 crore (USD 440 million), saw bids for Rs 3,448 crore (USD 504 million),as per the information available with the exchange.

At the end of two-hour auction this evening, 22 bids were declared successful.

The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in bonds, up to the limit purchased.

A mock bidding session was conducted on Friday to check the system's performance.

Depository data showed that total investments, including limits acquired by foreign investors through auction route, stood at Rs 1,31,924 crore till January 22, which was 97.43 percent of the total permitted investment limit of Rs 1,35,400 crore in government debt securities.

During earlier auctions, government bonds were subscribed multiple times, given the huge interest among foreign investors.

The limit for overseas investors in securities was hiked to Rs 1,29,900 crore from October 12 and it was further increased to Rs 1,35,400 crore from January 1, 2016.

Prior to October limit, they were allowed to invest up to Rs 1,24,432 crore in government debt securities through auction.