Cos PREFER DEBT ROUTE FOR FUND RISING

Indian firms raised a staggering over Rs 1 lakh crore from the markets in April, with debt segment emerging as the most preferred route to garner capital for their corporate needs. An analysis of funds raised through various routes showed that companies have together mopped up fresh capital worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore from equity and debt markets. A large chunk of this amount or more than Rs 85,136 crore has been mopped up from debt market, while Rs 20,406 crore has been mobilised via equity route. These funds have been raised mainly for expansion of business plans and to support working capital requirements. In the equity segment, most of the funds were raised through preferential route (Rs 10,484 crore), followed by rights issue (Rs 7,498 crore) Initial Public Offers (Rs 1,392 crore) and Qualified Institutional Placements (Rs 1,032 crore). Within the debt market, the companies raised Rs 84,807 crore through debt placement route, while just Rs 329 crore was mopped up through public issuance of debt securities. Companies preferred debt route over equity for mobilising money in April and most of the funds were raised through preferential allotment and rights issue. In 2014-15, firms had raised a total of Rs 4.80 lakh crore from equity and debt markets as compared to Rs 3.92 lakh crore raked in the preceding fiscal.