New Delhi: India's primary market experienced its most active month this September in almost 28 years, as 25 companies went public on the mainboard, marking the highest number of listings since January 1997, when 28 were recorded. The SME activity in the primary market also set a record, with 53 IPOs raising Rs 2,309 crore, the highest ever in a single month by both volume and value, as per the stock exchanges data.
A total of 25 IPOs raised over Rs 13,300 crore during the month. Meanwhile, SMEs raised Rs 9,129 crore through 207 listings, surpassing previous annual fundraising records with a quarter of the year still remaining. Analysts linked the boom to strong foreign institutional inflows and consistent demand from retail investors and mutual funds, despite fluctuations in the secondary markets.
Mutual funds, insurers, pension funds, and retail investors are pursuing new issues amid valuation concerns in the secondary market. In the broader market, Sensex has risen from 80,364 to 80,795 and the BSE MidCap and the BSE SmallCap have outperformed the benchmark indices. Meanwhile, India climbed to third position globally in terms of funding for tech startups, trailing only the United States and the United Kingdom but ahead of Germany and France.
SEBI, in its recent board meeting, decided to revise the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms for large companies planning initial public offerings (IPOs). Under the new norms, companies with a market capitalisation of Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore will now get more time to meet the public shareholding requirements. They will be required to achieve 15 per cent MPS within five years of listing and 25 per cent within 10 years. At present, companies are required to meet the 25 per cent threshold within three years.
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