HDFC Bank's fund-raising

HDFC Bank is likely to raise Rs 10,000 crore on Tuesday. The private lender is said to have appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to manage the share sale. The bank is considering a part-American depository receipt (ADR) issue and part-qualified institutional placement. Fund raising through the ADR route would be a smart move, as these are trading at a 10 per cent premium to domestic shares. Also, the fund-raising regime through this route has recently been eased.

The government is being lauded for moving ahead with Coal India's disinvestment. The Centre, which raised around Rs 22,500 crore by divesting 10 per cent holding last week, was so secretive that even the seven banks handling the share sale were kept in the dark about the plans. "The sale announcement date took all of us by surprise. We were told to be prepared but nobody imagined disinvestment would be done in January itself," said a banker. The move, aimed at preventing the news from leaking, is likely to be adopted for coming disinvestments, too.

Many small investors couldn't successfully participate in the Coal India disinvestment. The reasons for failing to make applications were many. For some, it was confusion over the discounted price and difficulties in arranging funds in a short time. Some brokers complained they couldn't process many orders, as the exchange systems had slowed just before bidding was to close. The offering saw retail bids worth Rs 1,800 crore and around 170,000 applications.

HDFC Bank