REC Limited has achieved a landmark milestone by issuing India’s First Pilot Issue on Tokenized Corporate Bonds under the SEBI Regulatory Sandbox Framework. The issue size was ₹500 Crore, with an overwhelming response resulting in a book build of ₹796 Crore. The bonds are listed on NSE and BSE, marking a transformative leap in India’s capital market infrastructure with atomic DvP settlement and shared-ledger transparency.
India’s First Tokenized Corporate Bonds Launched
REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise, has successfully issued India’s First Pilot Issue on Tokenized Corporate Bonds under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Regulatory Sandbox Framework. This landmark achievement signifies a major advancement in the country’s capital markets infrastructure.
Issue Details and Market Response
The pilot issue was sized at ₹500 Crore, comprising a base issue of ₹100 Crore and a green shoe option of ₹400 Crore. Bidding took place on the EBP platform of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). The issue garnered significant investor interest, attracting an overwhelming market response and clocking a book building of ₹796 Crore, indicating an oversubscription of approximately 8x. REC has accepted ₹500 Crore at a coupon rate of 7.30% per annum for a tenor of 1 year and 9 months.
Transformative Capital Market Leap
The success of this pilot issue highlights the collaborative commitment of SEBI, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and various Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs), including NPCI, depositories, and stock exchanges. The tokenized mode facilitated faster settlement, with pay-in, allotment, and listing of the bonds occurring on the same day. The bonds are now listed on both NSE and BSE Limited. This issuance introduces atomic Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) settlement and shared-ledger transparency, representing a significant evolution in India’s debt markets.
The Demat 2.0 initiative and tokenization of corporate bonds are considered a landmark step in the evolution of India’s debt markets. By leveraging digital infrastructure, distributed ledger technology, and CBDC-enabled settlement while preserving investor protections, SEBI is laying the groundwork for the next generation of capital market infrastructure. Through Demat 2.0, securities ownership is securely recorded and tracked on a permissioned distributed ledger, minimizing settlement risks and operational friction while adhering to statutory safeguards and institutional compliance.
Source: BSE
