Kandla Port Trust is said to have invested Rs 20 crore in the tax-free bonds issued by Ennore Port, the entity that runs Ennore Port in Tamil Nadu.
According to Kandla Port, the ministry of shipping asked it to subscribe to the bond issue of Ennore Port. The direction from the ministry came understandably because of the poor response from investors to the bond issue.
As an indication of the poor response to the bond issue, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Ennore Port and Dredging Corp. of India could sell only Rs 200 crore worth of bonds compared to an issue size of Rs 3,500 crore.
While JN Port planned to raise Rs 2,000 crore, Ennore Port wanted to mop up Rs 1,000 crore and of Dredging Corp Rs 500 crore through the bond issue.
The shipping ministry is learnt to have directed five state-owned ports located at Kandla, Vizag, Paradip, New Mangalore and Mumbai to subscribe to these bonds.
Kandla Port has reportedly invested in the tax-free bond of Ennore Port because the coupon rate of 7.01 percent offered by the latter to non-retail investors is the highest among the three offerings, said the spokesman for , based in Gujarat. Ennore Port raised Rs 95 crore through the bond issue, which included subscriptions of Rs.20 crore each from Kandla Port Trust and Paradip Port Trust and Rs 10 crore each from Mumbai Port Trust and New Mangalore Port Trust.
