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14.0: Introduction

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    38383
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    One of the most powerful ways for an institution to raise large amounts of capital is by issuing marketable bonds. A company or a government will essentially borrow the required financing from investors such as you and me. Individually we cannot provide the needed funds, but the bond issuer can raise a large sum of money from us collectively.

    For example, Manitoba Hydro is currently building new hydro lines extending from the Keewatinoow Converter Station north of Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba to the southern distribution network. The project, called Bipole III, is awaiting environmental approvals and licensing. When approved, it is projected to take almost five years to complete the 1,364 kilometre project involving approximately 2,800 45-metre transmission towers. The cost of the project is around $3.28 billion. Manitoba Hydro's 2011–2012 net income was $61 million, while its 2012–2013 net income was $92 million.1 It obviously cannot just ask a bank for a $3.28 billion loan! And even in situations when a bank loan is available, financing through bonds is generally more flexible.

    One of the largest bond issuers in Canada, with $468 billion in outstanding marketable bonds as of August 2012, is the Government of Canada.2 This money is primarily used to fund Canada's national debt. On the consumer side, marketable bonds represent another investment opportunity you can include in your RRSP portfolio. They feature regular interest payments and a chance to grow your savings through trading on the bond market.

    This chapter begins with the basics of how bonds operate. Then you will learn how to calculate the purchase price of a bond and work with bond interest rates. Bond issuance usually comes with a sinking fund provision, which is explained in Section 14.3. Finally, we will explore the financial and accounting responsibilities associated with amortization of bond premiums and accrual of bond discounts.

    References

    1. Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, 62nd Annual Report for the Year Ended March 31, 2013, www.hydro.mb.ca/corporate/ar/2012/publish/index.html#66-67 (accessed October 2, 2013).
    2. Statistics Canada, “Canada: Economic and Financial Data,” www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/indi01f-eng.htm (accessed November 27, 2012).

    Contributors and Attributions


    This page titled 14.0: Introduction is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jean-Paul Olivier via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.