Small and medium enterprises raise Rs 1,546 crore through initial public offerings during first half of 2018

New Delhi: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) raised Rs 1,546 crore through initial public offerings during the first six months of the year, more than a two-fold jump from the same period last year. Funds raised through initial public offers (IPOs) were used for business expansion plans, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes, as per the offer documents. About 88 companies got listed with initial share sale offers worth Rs 1,546 crore during January-June 2018 compared with 50 firms which tapped the IPO route to garner Rs 660 crore in the same period of the previous year. This reflects a significant rise in the amount raised through SME platforms of both the BSE and NSE. [caption id=“attachment_4748931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Further, the average issue size also increased to Rs 17.5 crore during the period under review from Rs 13 crore in the first six months of 2017. “It has been more than six years since SME market opened up and we have witnessed this market evolving gradually with varying trends: high over-subscriptions, widening shareholder base, venture capital exits through this platform, anchor investor participation and the like. “This segment will continue to be of interest and will grow leaps and bounds in time to come,” said Mahavir Lunawat, Group Managing Director, at Pantomath Advisory Services Group. Out of 88 IPOs, as many as four got subscribed more than 100 times. Further, participation from anchor investors has been increasing in the SME segment too. “Pricing of SME IPOs is generally attractive; and due to high demand post listing, the prices rally up to a significant number. Markets have been corrected sharply in 2018 so far and SMEs are no exceptions. The decline in prices of some of the SME scrips was also seen during the first six months of the year,” Lunawat added.