Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has launched a public issue of tax-free bonds in the nature of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures to raise Rs.500 crore with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs.1,500 crore. The overall size of the issue can’t exceed Rs.2,000 crore.
The issue opens on March 11, and closes on March 15. Each bond has a face value of Rs.1,000. One can apply for a minimum of 5 bonds and in multiples of one bond thereafter. According to L. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, the bonds, with a tenure of 10 years, will carry a fixed interest of 6.82 per cent per annum. Additional interest rate of 0.50 percentage points, that is 7.32 per cent per annum, will be paid to the original retail investors.
JNPT plans to utilise the proceeds of the bond issue for deepening and widening of the Mumbai harbour channel and JN Port’s navigational channel at an estimated cost of Rs.1,572 crore. The balance will be utilised for land reclamation and other infrastructure purposes. “Since last year we have already started dredging which will be completed in 25 months time,” said Luxman Radhakrishnan, Chairman, JNPT.
