Goldbond bidders to get 4% interest on funds transfer period

New Delhi: Investors bidding for the fourth tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme will get an interest of four per cent annually for the time taken on funds transfer from clearing corporations to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The subscription, which started on Monday and will be open till July 22, is aimed at attracting large number of investors so as to curb demand for physical gold that is imported in large quantities draining the country’s foreign exchange.

SGB - government securities denominated in grams of gold - offer an alternative to holding gold in physical form. The scheme was announced by the government on October 30, 2015. Interest will be paid at prevailing savings bank rate (currently at 4 per cent per annum) as intimated by exchange/ Clearing Corporation from time to time from the date of realisation/receipt of funds by ICCL from members for such SGB bidding till the date of transfer of funds to RBI.

SGB - government securities denominated in grams of gold - offer an alternative to holding gold in physical form.
The scheme was announced by the government on October 30, 2015. Interest will be paid at prevailing savings bank rate (currently at 4 per cent per annum) as intimated by exchange/ Clearing Corporation from time to time from the date of realisation/receipt of funds by ICCL from members for such SGB bidding till the date of transfer of funds to RBI, BSE said in a circular.

The exchange said interest would be paid through Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL) on the bids amount collected and retained till allotment date of SGB on BSE platform as per the norms prescribed by RBI.

The exchange said interest would be paid through Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL) on the bids amount collected and retained till allotment date of SGB on BSE platform as per the norms prescribed by RBI. In other words the interest will be paid on the amount deposited by the members, which is blocked against the bids placed by such members and while no interest will be given on the idle amount deposited by the member with ICCL against which bids have not been placed by the members.
Thereafter, interest amount will be credited directly to the investors’ bank account. The SGB issue price has been fixed at Rs 3,119 per gram.

An investor can invest for a minimum unit of one gram and a maximum of 500 grams. The first three tranches had attracted an investment of Rs 1,318 crore, equivalent to 4.9 tonnes of gold at the prices prevailing at those times.
With the added features, it is expected that the 4th tranche of SGB would garner much higher investment. SGB gives an interest of 2.75 per cent per annum, payable every six months on initial investment minus the risk of theft/loss or impurities associated with physical gold.
NSE, in a separate circular, said it has introduced several new initiatives including bid verification and withdrawal facilities for investors for the subscription of fourth tranche of the scheme.

NSE said investors can verify the SGB application details uploaded on the exchange bidding system by participants/bank. The data of the bid details uploaded by the participants/ bank would be available on T+1 day (where T would be date receipt of bid on NSE platform).

To verify the bid, investors are required to enter personal identification details provided at the time of bid entry, NSE said in a circular. It has also provided additional bulk upload facility similar to existing IPO bidding format, along with existing bulk upload format to participants to enter bids. NSE said on next day of the bidding day (T+1) the participant can withdraw a bid submitted on T-day, before the funds are collected by its clearing corporation for the reasons like client failed to provide funds.

Source: PTI