MUMBAI, Aug 13: The Tata Electric Companies (TEC) has raised $ 300 million through an international bond offering. The offering was in two parts: $ 150 millon, 7.875 per cent ten-year notes and $ 150 million, 8.5 per cent 20 year notes.

The securities were offered primarily to institutional investors in the Yankee bond market under Rule 144 A.The bond offerings met with strong investor demand with investor interest in excess of $ 600 million. The securities were broadly distributed with mainly buy-and-hold investors within the US with additional investor interest from Europe and Asia.

``Due to TEC's standing as India's premier electric utility, the companies were able to access investors that had previously not purchased Indian debt securities, thus broadening the US investor base for future Indian international bond issues,'' it claimed.

The TEC bond issue received a Baa3 rating from Moody's that is constrained by the sovereign ceiling and a BB+ rating with a positive outlook from Standard & Poor's. These are the highest possible ratings that any Indian issue could receive.

The securities were priced significantly finer than the current trading levels of any other Indian debt issue despite a volatile US treasury market.

TEC's ten-year issue also achieved the lowest pricing for any issue being traded in the markets.TEC's Yankee bond issue was the culmination of a series of investor presentations in Kong Kong, London and in the US-New York, Hartford, Boston and Los Angeles throughout which management showcased the companies as among the finest credit to emerge from the Indian subcontinent.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.