New Delhi: BSE, Asia’s oldest exchange and now world’s fastest exchange with the speed of 6 microseconds, on 1st July 2016 had launched the platform for Electronic Book Mechanism “BSE BOND” for issuance of debt securities on private placement basis.

On November 13, 2020, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) successfully raised Rs. 200 Crores by issuing Municipal Bond on Private Placement Basis using BSE BOND (EBP Platform). LMC received 21 bids on BSE BOND platform for Rs.450 crores, 4.5 times of the issue size. BSE is the preferred choice amongst Municipal Corporations to raise debt as this was the 8th successful Municipal Bond Issuance on BSE BOND platform.

Out of the total 11 Municipal Bond Issuances totaling to Rs 3689.9 crore, Rs 3175 crores have been exclusively raised on BSE BOND platform scaling its market share to 86%. In the current financial year till November 13, 2020, BSE BOND platform has enabled corporate India to raise Rs. 2,45,968 crore (USD 32.99 billion) by issue of debt capital.

Speaking on this, Ashish Kumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE said, “On this auspicious occasion of ‘Dhanteras’, I am happy that Lucknow Municipal
Corporation (LMC) is able to raise Rs. 200 Crore successfully using the BSE Bond Platform, a market leading platform for bond raising in India. Lucknow Municipal Corporation is the first Municipal Corporation to raise funds in the state of Uttar Pradesh this Financial Year. BSE firmly believes that Indian Bond Market is poised for substantial growth and India can use its domestic savings to fund its infrastructure needs in a substantial manner.”

Ajay Kumar Dwivedi, Municipal Commissioner Lucknow said, “We are happy with the success of first bond issue of Lucknow Municipal Corporation which was oversubscribed by 4.5 times. This shows the investor’s confidence in the financial discipline of Lucknow Municipal Corporation. It is a proud moment not only for Lucknow Municipal Corporation, but for the entire State of Uttar Pradesh. We would like to thank the entire team of BSE for providing a robust platform for smooth bond issuance.”