Fiscal year 2015-16 may herald some Achche Din for the primary market. Nineteen companies are set to tap the capital market through initial public offerings in the next couple of months, to raise about ₹12,000 crore.
However, investment bankers and analysts caution that it’s still early days. The success of the primary market hinges on two important factors — a resilient secondary market and the fundamentals of the companies, they added.
April 1 itself saw five firms — Catholic Syrian Bank, Dilip Buildcon, Navkar Corporation, Prabhat Dairy and MM Auto Industries — approach SEBI with draft documents to raise about ₹2,000 crore.
Already seven companies, including UFO Moviez India, Sadhbhav Infrastructure Projects, VRL Logistics and Shree Pushkar Chemicals and Fertilisers, have obtained the regulator’s nod for their public issues.
Filings on the rise Since October 1, the total number of companies filing their initial papers with SEBI has jumped to 19. They are looking to garner at least ₹12,000 crore.
Though most of the issues are in the range of ₹250-750 crore, AGS Transact Technologies plans to raise ₹1,350 crore. This is the second attempt by the payment solutions provider to tap the primary market, as its earlier move in 2010 failed. GMR Airport Developers (₹1,500 crore), Indigo Airlines (₹2,500 crore) and Alkem Laboratories (₹1,800 crore) have also taken the first steps to enter the capital market.
If sentiment remains positive, Government-owned companies such as UTI Mutual Fund, Cochin Shipyard, ONGC Tripura Company, Mahanagar Gas and Hindustan Aeronautics could also tap the primary market. High-profile private firms such as HDFC Standard Life, Coffee Day Enterprises and Avantha Power Infrastructure could also join the IPO bandwagon. Though the activity in the primary market shows signs of revival, it is “still early” days, said Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, Prime Database, which tracks the primary market. Despite a vibrant secondary market and positive sentiment, some IPOs received only a lukewarm response in recent times, he added.
According to Arun Kejriwal of KRIS Securities, every filing with SEBI need not become an IPO, as scores of firms are yet to enter the market despite approval.
According to a study by Prime Database, in the six years since April 1, 2009, 103 companies, which were to collectively raise ₹48,150 crore, allowed SEBI’s approval to lapse. Another 58 companies that had filed offer documents with SEBI to raise ₹17,685 crore withdrew them.
“If extraneous factors such as the turmoil in Greece and West Asia escalate, then that will have a strong impact on the Indian market, too. And that, in turn, will push IPOs into cold storage for the next couple of years,” Kejriwal cautioned.