Tax-free bonds of three state-owned companies have received a tepid response , with the issues seeing subscriptions for only a fraction of their target amounts on their opening day on Friday. This last tranche of tax-free bonds comes at a time when the market is already crowded with issues, leading to over-supply ahead of the fiscal year-end .

The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) could raise Rs 239 crore or 8.16% of its total issue size of Rs 2,916 crore, including a core issue size of Rs 1,500 crore, according to data available on the BSE website. Similarly, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) saw subscriptions for Rs 154 crore or 14.5% of the total issue size of Rs 1,060 crore (core issue size of Rs 250 crore).

For Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), the issue size is relatively smaller at Rs 286 core with a core issue size of Rs 75 crore. The AA+ rated issue could collect Rs 63 crore or 22% of the total size on the first day. The interest rates on these bonds vary from 8.19%-8.

88% in three maturity buckets of 10, 15 and 20 years for both retail and institutional customers. IRFC, however, has not offered a 20-year maturity. ET had reported earlier that four state-owned companies were going to raise a total of Rs 5,250 crore through tax-free bonds. National Housing Bank is the fourth entity whose Rs 1,000-crore public issue is expected to open next week. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda), Ennore Ports and India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL), whose offerings opened for subscription almost two weeks ago, are collectively likely to mop up about Rs 4,300 crore.

Ireda and IIFCL, both 'AAA' rated, have so far raised Rs 723 crore (target Rs 1,000 crore) and Rs 829 crore (target Rs 2,823 crore), respectively. "The interest rate is at its peak in the 15-year bucket so far. One can have the safety of investment in these instruments ," an investment banker, who did not wish to be named, said.