Shipping ministry plans to raise Rs 2,100 crore via tax free bonds

22 Jul 2011 Evaluate

The Shipping Ministry is planning to raise around Rs 2,100 crore by September from the capital market by way of issuing tax free bonds. The country's only corporate port, Ennore Port will raise Rs 1,100 crore whereas JNPT has been given the nod to raise about Rs 1,000 crore. The coupon rate will be decided after receiving approval from the finance ministry.

"A letter has been sent to the finance ministry and we expect the notification to come from Central Board of Direct Taxes shortly," a senior official from the shipping ministry said. By adding further he said, the two ports have been given a go ahead first as they have a credit rating in place. A better credit rating facilitates in raising funds from the market at a lower borrowing cost.

The pricing of bonds would depend on the rating of ports, a good rating indicates less risk and therefore making it attractive for the investors. Experts are of the view that tax free bonds are good option for financing the infrastructure projects

In the Union budget for current financial, government had allowed issue of Rs 30,000 crore tax free bonds for infrastructure development, out of which Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for port sector. This will be the first time when Indian ports would be raising funds from tax free bonds.

The balance Rs 3,000 crore will be raised by the end of the calendar year through Indian Ports Global , a state-owned company which will be set up on the lines of Dubai's DP World and Singapore's PSA International Pte to invest in overseas ports and terminals. The money raised will be used to finance the dredging operations and infrastructure requirements of various major ports.

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