Officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the BSE urged the industries in Coimbatore to tap the corporate bond market for funds.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an outreach programme organised at the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, on Friday, the SEBI Executive Director Maninder Cheema, BSE Managing Director Sundararaman Ramamurthy, and K. Saravanan, Chief General Manager of SEBI, said three outreach programmes were held in Mumbai and the fourth one was organised in Coimbatore. The SEBI plans to conduct at least 100 such programmes in the current year to improve awareness on corporate bonds. The aim is to encourage industries in Coimbatore to tap the corporate bond market for the financial requirements and also create awareness among retail investors to invest in these bonds.Industries will be able to lock the interest rates and the processes have been simplified for them to raise funds easily. Of the ₹59 lakh crore in the corporate bonds, there are less than 10 lakh retail investors, said Mr. Saravanan.According to Mr. Ramamurthy, of the six crore listed MSMEs in the country not all are active. Among the active units, there are just 1,420 that are listed for equity. There are 38 listed companies in Coimbatore, and even these units are not there in the bond market.“People want to realise value and grow. India has several opportunities. When there is a need for capital and there are limitations in the known sources, there is the option of tapping the corporate bonds,” said Mr. Ramamurthy.Mr. Saravanan said civic bodies in Tamil Nadu were tapping the opportunities in the municipal bonds. Published - July 31, 2026 09:23 pm IST