Heard on the Street: LIC Housing Finance bonds

Investors in LIC Housing Finance bonds eye higher rates

The bribes-forloan scandal at LIC Housing Finance appears to have given investors a reason to squeeze out higher rates in its first bond issue after the scam broke out last month. LIC Housing, which enjoys a ‘AAA’ credit rating, will pay 9.40% for its 2-year bond. This is higher than what the housing finance company paid in previous bond issues. Its competitor HDFC raised 8.95% for its one-year paper recently.

Institutions may trim exposure to Karuturi

Karuturi Global, a producer of cut roses, has lost the backing of a handful of its staunch supporters in the market in recent months. The buzz is an institutional broking firm officially distanced itself from the company, after rumours surfaced about Sanjay Dangi’s interest in the stock. The stock was not named by the market regulator in its recent circular on price rigging by Dangi. Grapevine has it that institutions are looking to trim exposure to the stock, but are not finding large buyers. Karuturi shares, which touched an yearly high of Rs 38.70 on October 21, closed at Rs 20.65 on Monday, down almost 15% from the previous trading session.

(By Contributed by Nishanth Vasudevan)