From The Times of India: The government is beginning to reach out to domestic and global investors to work out a strategy for higher investments and reduced reliance on imports in the post-Covid-19 world. During the lockdown, the commerce and industry ministry has had detailed discussions with a group of CEOs on boosting local production of several items, which are currently imported in large quantities, with work on an initial blueprint having begun. Sources told TOI that segments such as mobiles, air-conditioners, auto parts, specialised steel and aluminum products, power equipment, wooden furniture, along with food processing (with potato and orange in focus) are on the table.
Separately, Invest India, the government’s investment promotion agency, had identified over 1,000 global companies across sectors, whom it was reaching out to as part of the “China+1” strategy. “Globally, companies are realising that there is a need to diversify their production bases and India is being pitched as a possible destination. Our plan had slowed down due to Covid-19 but we are in talks with some of them,” a senior government officer told TOI.
State Govt borrowers are crowding out cash-strapped firms in raising funds
From The Hindu Business Line: Indian companies struggling against the coronavirus pandemic and a domestic credit crunch are facing another obstacle: competition from state governments to sell debt. States are planning to crank up bond sales by 18.2% this quarter from a year earlier to make up for a decline in tax revenue due to an economic slowdown. They usually have lower credit risks than companies, and are offering higher yields than before, which could entice investors. The corporate bond market was already suffering, prompting the RBI on Friday to again inject more money into it. The demand for longer tenor corporate bonds from insurers and pension funds is expected to fall as they shift allocations to state bonds after the recent surge in yields, said Manoj Jaju, chief investment officer at Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. “We too will have a bias toward state bonds over corporate debt now.
[...] But recent cases show how state debt may be more appealing than company securities, even with the extra policy support. Maharashtra state is a case in point. It auctioned 10-year debt on April 7 with an annualized yield of 7.98%, the highest for that tenor since January last year. The latest rate was 44 basis points more than the yield on similar maturity AAA corporate notes. On the same day, REC Ltd., a state-owned financial firm, scrapped plans to sell notes because market participants demanded higher yields.
State bonds are also attractive because they have better trading liquidity in the secondary market compared with corporate securities, said Jaju at Bharti AXA. The State notes are accepted as collateral at the central bank’s repurchase auctions, unlike corporate bonds, providing an added incentive for investors, he said.
