New Delhi: The country's most cash-rich IT firm Infosys has doubled its investments in liquid debt mutual funds to Rs 4,986 crore -- the highest in nearly three years.
At the same time, Infosys' bank deposits remained almost stagnant at Rs 14,569 crore as on September 30, 2012, as compared to Rs 15,267 crore at the end of June, as per the company's latest quarterly financial accounts.
Infosys' investments in debt-focussed liquid mutual fund schemes rose sharply in the July-September 2012 quarter, from Rs 2,161 crore at the end of previous three-month period.
Large corporates use the liquid MFs to park cash for short-term and also earn good returns, while waiting to deploy the funds for future projects.
At nearly Rs 5,000 crore now, Infosys' current investment level in liquid mutual funds is the highest for the debt-free firm in as many as 11 quarters. It was only in December 2009 that Infosys' exposure to liquid MFs was higher -- Rs 5,200 crore, company data shows.
The liquid mutual funds are estimated to have given a three-month return of 2-2.5% in the September quarter, while the average return in the past 12 months has been around 9.7%.
Additionally, Infosys' Rs 2,000-crore Lodestone buy-out is slated for closure next week after receiving certain regulatory approvals which could result in some outflows that may be taken care of the liquid MF exposure, analysts say.
Investments in mutual funds formed a significant chunk of the IT major's cash chest, which stood at Rs 22,570 crore in the last concluded quarter.
According to company officials, the company's treasury department was able to get a yield of 9.6% on its cash surplus during the just concluded July-September quarter.
PTI
