India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) 10.50% NCDs – January 2019 Issue

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) is coming out with its public issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from tomorrow, 22nd of January. The company wants to raise Rs. 2,000 crore from this issue, including the green-shoe option of Rs. 1,750 crore, and is offering interest rate in the range of 9.60% for 39 months and 10.50% for 120 months.

The issue is scheduled to close on February 20, unless the company decides to close the issue prematurely as it is able to raise the desired amount before the scheduled closing date. The issue is rated ‘AA+’ by Brickwork Ratings and ‘AA’ by CRISIL and ICRA.

Before we check how the issue looks from an investment point of view, let us take a look at some of its key features:

Size & Objective of the Issue – Base size of the issue is Rs. 250 crore, with an option to retain oversubscription of an additional Rs. 1,750 crore, making the total issue size to be Rs. 2,000 crore. The company plans to use the issue proceeds for its lending and financing activities, to repay interest and principal of its existing borrowings and other general corporate purposes.

Interest Rate on Offer, Effective Yield & Tenor of the Issue – The issue will carry coupon rate of 10.50% p.a. for a period of 120 months, 10.20% p.a. for 60 months and 9.60% p.a. for 39 months. These rates would be applicable for annual interest payment options only. Monthly interest payment option is also available with 120 months and 60 months tenors, and coupon rates for these periods will be 10% p.a. and 9.75% p.a. respectively, interest payable on a monthly basis.

ASBA Mandatory – Like equity IPOs, SEBI has made ASBA mandatory to apply for debt issues as well, effective October 1, 2018. So, you are no longer required to issue cheques to apply for these NCD issues. In case of physical applications, you need to sign on the application form as per your bank records.

Credit Rating & Nature of NCDs – CRISIL, ICRA and Brickwork Ratings have been appointed as the credit rating agencies for this issue. While CRISIL and ICRA have rated the issue as ‘AA’ with a ‘Stable’ outlook, Brickwork Ratings has rated it as ‘AA+’ with a ‘Stable’ outlook. Moreover, 39-month and 60-month NCDs are ‘Secured’ in nature, whereas 120-month NCDs are ‘Unsecured’ in nature.

NRIs Not Allowed – Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), foreign nationals and qualified foreign investors (QFIs) among others are not eligible to invest in this issue.

Categories of Investors – The company has decided to categorise investors in the following four categories:

Category I – Qualified Institutional Bidders (QIBs) – 20% of the issue i.e. Rs. 400 crore

Category II – Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) – 20% of the issue i.e. Rs. 400 crore

Category III – High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) including HUFs – 30% of the issue is reserved i.e. Rs. 600 crore

Category IV – Resident Indian Individuals including HUFs – 30% of the issue is reserved i.e. Rs. 600 crore

Allotment on First Come First Served Basis – Subject to the allocation ratio, allotment will be made on a first-come first-served basis, as well as on a date priority basis, i.e. on the date of oversubscription, the allotment will be made on a proportionate basis to all the applicants of that day on which it gets oversubscribed.

Minimum Investment – An investor needs to invest a minimum of Rs. 10,000 in this issue i.e. 10 NCDs worth Rs. 1,000 each.

Listing, Premature Withdrawal – These NCDs are proposed to be listed on both the stock exchanges, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as well as National Stock Exchange (NSE). The listing will take place within 6 working days after the issue gets closed. Though there is no option of a premature redemption, the investors can always sell these NCDs on either of the stock exchanges.

Demat A/c. Mandatory – Demat account is mandatory to invest in these NCDs, as the company is not providing the option to apply for these NCDs in physical or certificate form.

No TDS – As it is mandatory to have a demat account to apply and get these NCDs allotted, no tax would get deducted at source on the interest payments. However, as the interest income is taxable, you are supposed to disclose it while filing your ITR.

But, in case you decide to close your demat account, you can get these NCDs rematerialised. So, if rematerialised and held in physical form after the allotment, and if the annual interest income is more than Rs. 5,000, TDS @ 10% will be deducted.

Should you invest in India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) NCDs?

As there was no fresh flow of bad news from the domestic markets, as well as from the global front, market sentiment has improved somewhat in the last 15 days or so. But, is it some kind of calm before the storm? Nobody knows with certainty. But, one thing I am very confident of, like 2018, 2019 will also have high volatility in both equity, as well as the bond markets. US-China trade war, slowdown of economic growth both in China, as well as the US, India’s twin deficit problem and the crucial general elections here in India, all these are very important events to be closely monitored, and will play a very crucial role in market movement going ahead.

But, as far as the NBFCs’ liquidity crisis is concerned, I think the situation was not as bad as it was made out to be and it should improve going forward. RBI is taking all measures possible to defy the crisis, and easing global crude prices has also worked in allaying the fear among the investors.

As far as this issue is concerned, I think the interest rate for the 39-month option is low for my expectations, and 120-month investment period is too long a period to for my investments with a private company. So, if I were to invest in this issue, I would have opted for the monthly interest option of 60-month investment period, i.e. Series III. I don’t know when the NHAI is going to launch its public issue of taxable bonds, but I would advise the conservative investors to wait for it, as it makes more sense to invest in debt securities of government companies as compared to the private companies.

Application Form of India Infoline Finance Limited NCDs

Note: As per SEBI guidelines, ‘Bidding’ is mandatory before banking the application form, else the application is liable to get rejected. For bidding of your application, any further info or to invest in IIFL NCDs, you can contact us at +91-9811797407

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