3 foreign banks buy up bulk of Indian state govt debt

Mumbai

THREE banks snapped up almost 90 per cent of bonds sold by Indian states to foreigners, and turned them into derivatives, raising the prospect of more volatility in one of Asia's best performing debt markets.

Several market participants involved in the sale said offshore units of Nomura, Standard Chartered and Bank of America Merrill Lynch bought about 30 billion rupees (S$639 million) of the 35 billion rupees on offer in October, the first window for foreigners to buy in.