The Corporate Fixed Deposits, as the name suggests are like any other Fixed deposits issued by the banks. It has also got some characteristics of fixed deposits with some restrictions. The Corporate Fixed Deposits are issued by the Public and Private Limited companies. It is governed by Section 73 of the Companies Act. It is also called Company Deposits. Bank Deposits are governed by the Banking Regulation Act.
Why Companies Take Deposits
The companies require funds for their business activities. Normally they take loans from banks. The interest rate on these loans is comparatively higher. To reduce interest cost, companies invite deposits from the general public. The interest on these deposits is generally 3-5% less than the interest on the loans taken from banks. This helps them in reducing the cost of production. Thereby keeping the cost of their products competitive in the market.
WHO CAN ISSUE CORPORATE FIXED DEPOSITS
Financial companies and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) are allowed to take deposits from the public. But for Public and Private Limited companies the issuing of Corporate fixed Deposits is subject to the provisions of Section 73 to 76 of the Companies Act,2013.
A Public Company likely to take deposits from the public must have Net worth of Rs 100 Crs or Turnover of not less than Rs 500 Crs. The Company has to obtain shareholders’ consent through Special Resolution and the same has to be filed with the Registrar of Companies before accepting the deposits from Public.
Conditions Precedent to obtention of deposits from public
The companies have to necessarily fulfil the following conditions before accepting deposits from the public:
- Deposits shall not be repayable on demand.
- The period of deposits shall not be less than 6 months. The company may accept the deposits for their short-term requirement for not less than 3 months. But such deposits should not exceed more than 10% of their paid-up share capital and free reserves.
- Company has to issue an advertisement in a new paper in form-DPR-1 for inviting deposits from the public.
- Company cannot accept the deposits from public exceeding 25% of its share capital and free reserves. In the case of Government companies limit is 35%.
- Company shall obtain the Credit Rating from accredited agencies at the time of accepting the deposits and every year thereafter. The same shall be informed to the Registrar of companies in form-DPT-3.
- Company shall maintain a Repayment Reserve Account and keep a minimum of 20% of the number of deposits maturing during the following financial year.
Investment Options In Gold
| Parameters | Sovereign Gold Bond | Gold ETF | Gold Mutual Funds | Physical Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | RBI on behalf of GOI | Mutual Funds / Other entities | Mutual Funds | N/A |
| Who can invest | Individuals, HUF, Charitable Trusts, Universities | Anyone | Anyone | Anyone |
| Form of Holding | Physical Holding Certificates/ D’mat. | D’mat. | Electronic Form (Statement of Account) | Physical |
| Min Investment | 1 gram | 1 gram | Rs.1,000/- (depends upon scheme to scheme) | Any Amount |
| Max Investment | 20kg for institutions & 4kg for all other investors per year | Any Amount | Any Amount | Any Amount |
| Interest rate | 2.50% p.a credited semiannually (Taxable) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Redemption Value | Average of closing price of gold of 999 purity of previous 3 business days from the date of | Gold ETFs are represented by 99.5% pure physical gold bars. | As per underlying value of holding (generally Gold ETF) | Prevaling price of gold |
| Tenure | Lock-in for 8 years, early redemption from 5th year | No fixed tenure | No fixed tenure | No fixed tenure |
| Liquidity | Traded on stock exchanges (Only if held in D’mat) | Traded on stock exchanges. | Can be sold back to fund anytime. | Fairly liquid. |
| Exit Load | N/A | Nil | Applicable between 1-2% for upto 1-3 years. | Nil |
| Tax | No TDS. Interest is fully taxable. No Capital Gains tax if held till maturity. Capital Gains Tax applicable if | Capital Gains Tax is applicable | Treated as Debt Mutual fund. Capital Gains Tax charged as applicable | Capital Gains Tax is applicable |
| Impurity Risk | None | None | None | Yes |
| Pledge | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cost of Holding | Nil | Fund Management cost applies. (Generally between 0.50 – 1.00% per year. | (Generally between 0.50 – 1.00% per year. Fund Management cost applies. (Generally between 1.00 – 1.50% per year. | Nil |
Should You Invest In Gold?
Wow or Oops!
Let us look at the recent Gold ETF returns..
Returns ( as on 31-May-20)
| 1 Year | 3 Year | 5 Year | 7 Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46% | 16% | 11% | 7% |
Source:MFI, Fundsindia Research Returns ( as on 31-May-19)
| 1 Year | 3 Year | 5 Year | 7 Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | 2% | 3% | 0% |
Oops. We need to sell Gold 
Same asset class – but two completely different interpretations!
Note: Returns of Nippon India ETF Gold BeES (largest Gold ETF with AUM above Rs. 3,500 crs) is used for illustration How do we form our return expectations?
Normally it is considered that a person is having an active working life up to the age of 60 years, whether he/she is employed or not. Those who are employed in Government, Public or Private sectors retire on attaining the age of 60 years. To meet the post-retirement expenses, some sort of regular income is required. To overcome this, the Pension scheme was introduced for Government and Public sector employees.
The pension scheme was regulated through the Pension Act. It was also considered as a social security measure. Whereas this facility is not available for Private Sector employees and unorganized sector workers. The unorganized sector workers are also deprived of Pension benefits. To have a uniform Pension scheme for all citizens under both Organised and Un-organised sector Government introduced the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
Bonds are the instruments to raise the funds by the Government and Corporate entities from the public. It is considered as a loan from the subscribers. It carries a fixed rate of interest and called Fixed income instruments. It carries a maturity period of 7-10 years. But infrastructure bonds are issued for longer periods up to 30 years. Bonds are considered less risky than Equities or Shares as a return in the form of interest is assured. Whereas in the case of Equities return is in the form of dividends. Companies declare dividends out of the profits earned.
WHO CAN ISSUE THE BONDS?
Bonds are issued by the following entities:
Corporate
Corporate issues the bonds to raise the funds to conduct their business activities. They may need funds for long term basis for their Capital expenditures or short term basis for working capital requirements. Bonds issued by corporate also called Debentures.
Corporate issues the following type of bonds:
Convertible Debentures : These type of bonds are converted into shares as per the pre-decided terms and conditions of the debentures. It could be fully convertible or partly convertible debentures. In the case of fully convertible bonds, no amount is payable on maturity. In the case of Partially convertible bonds, the amount about the nonconvertible part is repaid on maturity. Corporate bonds carry a certain amount of risk as the repayment of bonds depends upon the profit earned by the company. Therefore companies offer more interest on their bonds.
Non-convertible Debenture : Nonconvertible debentures remain as a debt instrument and carries the fixed rate of interest. Redemption amount is repaid on maturity.
Government
The government also issues the bonds to fund their various developmental activities mostly for infrastructure projects. Government bonds are also known as G-Sec or Government Securities. These bonds are considered a safe investment as repayment is guaranteed by the government. These bonds carry little less interest compared to Corporate bonds. The duration of the bonds is also longer for up to 30 years. The interest rate offered on Government bonds is also called Coupan rate.
Type of Bonds:
The following type of bonds are in vogue:
01. Government Bonds : These bonds are issued by Central and State Governments to fund their development activities.
02. Local Authorities Bonds : These bonds are issued by the local authorities like Municipal Corporations.
03. Public Sector Bonds : These bonds are issued by Public Sector Enterprises of Central and State Governments.
04. Tax-Free Bonds : These bonds are issued by the Central Governments. Interest paid on these bonds is tax-free.
Sovereign Gold Bonds(SGB)
These types of bonds are issued by the Central Government. The underlying security in these bonds is Gold.
The price of the bond is fixed based on the prevailing price of the gold. The value of a bond is mentioned in no. of grams of gold.
On maturity, investors can opt to get either the physical gold in grams or equivalent amount of value in rupees. The interest payable in these bonds is @2.50% pa. Interest can be taken half-yearly or can be taken at the time of maturity. The interest paid on these bonds is tax-free.