India to buy back government bonds worth 400 billion rupees

INDIA will buy back 400 billion rupees (S$6.48 billion) worth of government bonds, the country’s central bank said on Monday (May 27).

The securities offered for buyback are four government bonds with maturity dates in the second half of 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement.

The announcement comes a week after the RBI, acting on behalf of the government, accepted bids to buy back only 52.7 billion rupees-worth of bonds.

This was the government’s third straight attempt with little success to infuse liquidity into the financial markets through a bond buyback. The government had also said earlier this month it will reduce the supply of Treasury bills by about 600 billion rupees until the end of June.

Spending by India’s federal government is likely to remain slower for a few more months, which may prompt more steps to infuse cash into the banking system, Reuters reported last week.

The auction will be conducted on May 30 and its results will be announced on the same day, while the settlement will occur on May 31. REUTERS