Chandigarh, July 07, 2025: Mainboard IPOs return after a two-month pause: The primary market saw modest momentum in May with nine initial public offerings (IPOs) raising just over Rs 5,600 crore. Importantly, after two months of no mainboard IPOs, three companies debuted with an average issue size of approximately Rs 1,750 crore—signalling an early sign of a broader revival, as many companies consider tapping the equity markets. It was supported by improving macroeconomic stability—evidenced by early signs of easing inflation, the record surplus dividend transfer from the central bank, free trade agreement (FTA) with UK, positive expectation of the ongoing trade negotiations with US & EU and many more. However, the recent escalation in geopolitical tensions in West Asia may cast a shadow on this momentum, potentially disrupting commodity prices and global trade flows, which could influence issuer sentiment in the near term.
Despite this uptick in IPOs, the further issuance of equity during May declined sharply to just over Rs 3,750 crore, a steep drop compared to nearly Rs 49,000 crore raised in April. The debt markets mirrored this subdued trend, with total fund-raised standing at Rs 1.3 lakh crore. Within this, Commercial Papers (CPs) accounted for 54% of the issuances, while the remaining 46% came from Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) through private placements.
Notably, all three mainboard IPOs in May belonged to the consumer discretionary sector— a continuation of a dominant trend observed in FY25, when this sector accounted for 40% of the Rs 1.6 lakh crore raised through mainboard IPOs. Institutional participation remained strong, with Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) receiving 67% of the allocation, followed by Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) at 21% and Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) at 12%, broadly consistent with last year’s patterns for the mainboard IPOs. On the SME Emerge platform, however, the distribution leaned more towards RIIs (37%), with QIBs and NIIs receiving 34% and 24% of the allocation respectively in the last two months.
New IPOs in the month
Mainboard IPOs shine with strong listings: Of the three mainboard IPOs listed in May, all debuted with listing gains. A key highlight was the dominance of fresh issuance, which accounted for 93% of the total issue size—significantly higher than the 35% fresh capital component seen in the entire previous fiscal year. Collectively, these three companies added over Rs 20,000 crore in market capitalisation as of the last trading day of May. On the SME front, six companies listed on the NSE Emerge platform, with mixed performance: while three recorded listing gains ranging from 1% to 27%, the remaining three saw discounts of 10% to 48% at debut. Notably, the total market capitalisation of the 619 listed entities on Emerge, including companies that migrated to the mainboard, crossed the Rs 2 lakh crore mark as of the last working day of May. During the month, these SME companies added over Rs 12,000 crore in market value, of which approximately Rs 779 crore came from the newly listed firms in May.