14 IPOs raised $940 mn in Q1 of 2019

Around 70 companies have received IPO clearance from markets regulator Sebi, but are waiting for election results.

Indian companies raised $940 million (about Rs 6,482.48 crore) through 14 initial public offers in the first quarter of 2019 and the IPO activity is expected to gather more steam post elections, an EY report said on Tuesday.

The report also noted that during January-March 2019, Indian stock exchanges (BSE and NSE, including SMEs) ranked fourth globally in terms of number of IPOs.

As per the 'EY India IPO Trends Report: Q1 2019', capital markets were energised in the reported quarter on hopes of a stable outcome of Lok Sabha elections.

In the latest quarter, the main markets (BSE and NSE) witnessed five IPOs, while SME market saw nine IPOs spread across different sectors, such as transportation, infrastructure, IT consultancy, etc.

"Investors and other stakeholders are waiting for the outcome of national elections....till then, IPO activities are expected to remain at low levels," Sandip Khetan, partner and national leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS), EY India said.

Khetan further noted that if a stable government is formed, IPO activities are likely to gather momentum and there could be flood of IPOs and fundraising activities in the second half of 2019.

Around 70 companies have received clearance from markets regulator Sebi, but are waiting for election results.

About 19 firms are awaiting clearance from the regulator, which indicates a strong pipeline of IPOs, the report said.

Going forward, the factors that could affect markets and IPO activities in 2019 include RBI's measures to ease tight liquidity, increased election-related government spending and consequent rise in corporate earnings for the coming quarters.

In global context, Europe Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) region's two largest IPOs in the quarter came from NSE, accounting for 94 per cent of India's IPO proceeds and 66 per cent of EMEIA's proceeds for the reported quarter.

Photograph: Kham/Reuters