Why to invest in bonds in India

 In order to better analyze the financial markets for investing in bonds (assets), it is important to know about bonds in India. When people generally talk about trading and investment options in India, the first thing that comes to mind will be the bonds market. 

For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising and falling, or a company's stock going up and down always gets people excited. However, when you ask people about government bonds in India, most will know very little about them. 

This is despite the fact that the bond market in the India is several trillion dollars larger than the India stock market. 

There are several reasons for this lack of knowledge about bonds investment in India. One reason could be that bonds appear uninteresting as the prices may not change as fast as stock prices and it is more difficult for most people to make a quick buck like buy bonds in india as well buy bonds online from BondsIndia.

Are we affected by what is happening in the bonds market in India as we are affected by the stock market? Yes, we sure are. If it is not so obvious in the past, the influence of the investing in bonds in India on our lives are clear for all to see from the momentous events over the past weeks. 

The near collapse of AIG, the massive bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the US$700 billion bailout package for the financial sector are caused by upheavals in the fixed income market bonds in India, which is the bond market. So if you think that you can buy government bonds and buy corporate bonds as well buy tax free bonds in India will not affect you, think again. 

As the topic on bonds is very wide ranging and complex, for this article, I will focus on the key types of bonds in India and talk about government bonds, tax free bonds, corporate bonds, zero coupon bonds and sovereign gold bonds as well mortgage-backed securities from the Indian market since Indian market bonds are the most influential to the world economy currently, although the bonds from Europe and Asia are catching up.

Importance of bonds affect the economy is that they raise an enormous amount of money for government bonds and corporation bonds. 

Only when money is raised that buy government bonds in India can spend to build infrastructure like roads and schools and corporations are able to produce their goods and services. 

Based on data provided by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the outstanding secondary bonds market debt in India as at Q3 of 2007 is valued at 29 trillion dollars, of which treasury bonds for the US government is valued at 4.4 trillion, corporate bonds in India is 5.7 trillion and the current spotlight in the news, mortgage backed securities is the biggest at 7 trillion. Investment in Bonds are the top  types of bonds in the US market in terms of market value.

A bonds, in simple language, is an interest-bearing document sold by a government bonds or a corporate bonds for the purpose of raising money. Investing in Bonds are like loans in which the buyer of the bond lends money to the bond seller, who is the borrower. 

The bond seller will repay the money to the buyer on a specific maturity date. On that date, the bond seller will repay the par value of the bond, which is usually $1000. You can buy government bonds may pay an amount less than or greater than par value to purchase bonds online, usually no more than 10% of the par value. 

Therefore, the typical bond prices may be for example $995 for below par value or $1005 for above par value, although the prices are usually quoted in terms of percentage known as the bonds yield, which is representative of the interest rate earned by the bonds. 

The maturity date of the bond can span from 1 day to 30 years. For Indian bonds, there are different names used to refer to bonds of varying maturities although in general, they are still called bonds. For instance, bills are securities with maturity of 12 months or less, notes have maturity of 1 to 12 years and bonds technically refer to securities that have maturities of 12 years or more. 

Another key type of bonds in India is the coupon rate, which is the stated, fixed interest payment that is received by the bond buyer. The coupon is usually paid semi annually and it is quoted as a percentage of the par value of the bonds investment in India. For example, for a coupon rate of 6% of par value $1000, the bond buyer will receive $60 per year, or $30 every 6 months.

The most commonly known bond is Indian treasuries which are bonds issued by the Indian government to meet their funding requirement. Buy Government bonds in India are backed by the full faith and credit of the Indian government and are considered risk free. 

The Indian treasury market is the most active and liquid market in the world. Buying India bonds is like putting money on fixed deposit with a bank that is the Indian government, which is even safer than normal bank fixed deposits.

Another major type of bonds is corporate bonds issued by corporations to meet their long term funding requirements as an alternative to borrowing from the bank or issuing new stock. This is because borrowing very large amounts of money from banks may not be possible or be very costly and issuing new stock may dilute the value of existing shares. 

As the buyers of corporate bonds are considered the company's creditors, in the event of bankruptcy, the bondholders have priority in getting their money back over the shareholders of the company.

Mortgage-back securities, which is a hot topic in news nowadays, as its name suggests, are securities that comprise of a pool of homeowners' mortgage that is packaged and sold to investors who are the bond buyers. They are intended to raise money to provide loans for people to own houses. 

Mortgage-back securities have noticeable differences from government bonds like US treasuries or corporate bonds. When a bond buyer purchases a mortgage-backed security, he or she will receive income from the repayment of mortgage loan by homeowners. 

For example, when you buy a house, you repay the loan an amount monthly that comprises principle repayment and interest. This money paid will contribute to the returns received by mortgage-back securities investors.

This article has provided a brief introduction on importance of bonds in india which is a topic that covers a very wide range. It is especially so with regards to mortgage-backed securities and to fully understand why they influence the problems we are seeing now is actually very complex. With a better understanding of the basics of bonds from this article, the reader is encouraged to do further research and study to understand this topic in greater detail.