Capital Market is one of the significant aspect of every financial market. Hence it is necessary to study its correct meaning. Broadly speaking the capital market is a market for financial assets which have a long or indefinite maturity. Unlike money market instruments the capital market instruments become mature for the period above one year. It is an institutional arrangement to borrow and lend money for a longer period of time. It consists of financial institutions like IDBI, ICICI, UTI, LIC, etc. These institutions play the role of lenders in the capital market. Business units and corporate are the borrowers in the capital market. Capital market involves various instruments which can be used for financial transactions. Capital market provides long term debt and equity finance for the government and the corporate sector. Capital market can be classified into primary and secondary markets. The primary market is a market for new shares, where as in the secondary market the existing securities are traded. Capital market institutions provide rupee loans, foreign exchange loans, consultancy services and underwriting.
Significance, Role
Like the money market capital market is also very important. It plays a significant role in the national economy. A developed, dynamic and vibrant capital market can immensely contribute for speedy economic growth and development.
Let us get acquainted with the important functions and role of the capital market.
Mobilization of Savings: Capital market is an important source for mobilizing idle savings from the economy. It mobilizes funds from people for further investments in the productive channels of an economy. In that sense it activate the ideal monetary resources and puts them in proper investments.
Capital Formation: Capital market helps in capital formation. Capital formation is net addition to the existing stock of capital in the economy. Through mobilization of ideal resources it generates savings; the mobilized savings are made available to various segments such as agriculture, industry, etc. This helps in increasing capital formation.
Provision of Investment Avenue: Capital market raises resources for longer periods of time. Thus it provides an investment avenue for people who wish to invest resources for a long period of time. It provides suitable interest rate returns also to investors. Instruments such as bonds, equities, units of mutual funds, insurance policies, etc. definitely provides diverse investment avenue for the public.
Speed up Economic Growth and Development: Capital market enhances production and productivity in the national economy. As it makes funds available for long period of time, the financial requirements of business houses are met by the capital market. It helps in research and development. This helps in, increasing production and productivity in economy by generation of employment and development of infrastructure.
Proper Regulation of Funds: Capital markets not only helps in fund mobilization, but it also helps in proper allocation of these resources. It can have regulation over the resources so that it can direct funds in a qualitative manner.
Service Provision: As an important financial set up capital market provides various types of services. It includes long term and medium term loans to industry, underwriting services, consultancy services, export finance, etc. These services help the manufacturing sector in a large spectrum.
Continuous Availability of Funds: Capital market is place where the investment avenue is continuously available for long term investment. This is a liquid market as it makes fund available on continues basis. Both buyers and seller can easily buy and sell securities as they are continuously available. Basically capital market transactions are related to the stock exchanges. Thus marketability in the capital market becomes easy.
Importance or Functions of Capital Market:
The capital market plays an important role immobilising saving and channel is in them into productive investments for the development of commerce and industry. As such, the capital market helps in capital formation and economic growth of the country. We discuss below the importance of capital market.
The capital market acts as an important link between savers and investors. The savers are lenders of funds while investors are borrowers of funds. The savers who do not spend all their income are called. “Surplus units” and the borrowers are known as “deficit units”. The capital market is the transmission mechanism between surplus units and deficit units. It is a conduit through which surplus units lend their surplus funds to deficit units.
Funds flow into the capital market from individuals and financial intermediaries which are absorbed by commerce, industry and government. It thus facilitates the movement of stream of capital to be used more productively and profitability to increases the national income.
Surplus units buy securities with their surplus funds and deficit units sells securities to raise the funds they need. Funds flow from lenders to borrowers either directly or indirectly through financial institutions such as banks, unit trusts, mutual funds, etc. The borrowers issue primary securities which are purchased by lenders either directly or indirectly through financial institutions.
The capital market prides incentives to savers in the form of interest or dividend and transfers funds to investors. Thus it leads to capital formation. In fact, the capital market provides a market mechanism for those who have savings and to those who need funds for productive investments. It diverts resources from wasteful and unproductive channels such as gold, jewellery, real estate, conspicuous consumption, etc. to productive investments.
A well-developed capital market comprising expert banking and non-banking intermediaries brings stability in the value of stocks and securities. It does so by providing capital to the needy at reasonable interest rates and helps in minimising speculative activities.
The capital market encourages economic growth. The various institutions which operate in the capital market give quantities and qualitative direction to the flow of funds and bring rational allocation of resources. They do so by converting financial assets into productive physical assets. This leads to the development of commerce and industry through the private and public sector, thereby inducing economic growth.
In an underdeveloped country where capital is scarce, the absence of a developed capital market is a greater hindrance to capital formation and economic growth. Even though the people are poor, yet they do not have any inducements to save. Others who save, they invest their savings in wasteful and unproductive channels, such as gold, jewellery, real estate, conspicuous consumption, etc.
Such countries can induce people to save more by establishing banking and non-banking financial institutions for the existence of a developed capital market. Such a market can go a long way in providing a link between savers and investors, thereby leading to capital formation and economic growth.
3 thoughts on “Meaning, Nature and role of Capital Market”