NEW DELHI, Mar 10: The country’s first corporatised port Ennore has launched an issue of tax-free bonds to raise up to 1,000 crore.
The move comes in the wake of the Finance Ministry nod to three Shipping Ministry controlled entities — Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and Ennore Port — to raise Rs 3,500 crore through tax-free bonds.
The offer for “tax-free secured, non-convertible bonds of face value of Rs 1,000 each, in the nature of debentures having tax benefits under section 10 of Income Tax Act, as amended up to Rs 5,000 million with an option to retain over subscription up to Rs 5,000 million, aggregating to Rs 10,000 million,” closes on March 15, Ennore Port said.
The bonds are proposed to be listed on the BSE.
Situated on the coromandal coast in Tamil Nadu, Ennore is the 12th Major Port and the first Corporatised Major Port in the country.
Meanwhile, the public issue of tax-free bonds of Jwaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) will open on March 11 and would close on March 15, to raise Rs 500 crore with an option to retain over subscription up to Rs 1,500 crore. The overall size of the issue can not exceed Rs 2,000 crore.
JNPT is the country’s largest container port.
The Dredging Corporation of India plans to net Rs 500 crore.
In the FY12 budget, the Finance Ministry had said the Shipping Ministry could raise up to Rs 5,000 crore in bonds but bad market conditions forced them to defer the plans. (PTI)
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