Sovereign gold bonds start trading; surge over 7%

Mumbai: Sovereign gold bonds on Monday made a debut on the stock exchanges and closed the first day of the trade with handsome gains of over 7 percent.

The bonds were listed at Rs 2,930 per gram and finally closed at Rs 3,147.75 per gram, surging 7.43 percent from the opening price on the National Stock Exchange.

During the day, the bonds touched a high of Rs 3,258 per gram, up 10.38 percent.

Turnover at both NSE and BSE stood at Rs 23.18 lakh, while traded volume was 736.

Sovereign gold bonds provide investors a choice to diversify portfolio without the need to buy the metal in physical form.

The sovereign gold bond scheme was announced by the government on October 30, 2015. These bonds are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government.

The tenure of the bonds is eight years with an exit option from fifth year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.

The bonds will carry an interest rate of 2.75 per cent (fixed rate) per annum on the amount of initial investment. Interest is to be paid half-yearly and the last interest will be payable on maturity, along with the principal.

So far, three tranches of the bonds have been issued, amounting to about Rs 1,322 crore, and the fourth tranche is expected soon.

The bonds are denominated in grams of gold.