The Hindu Business Line : NHPC makes debut on lukewarm note

Retail investors were disappointed by the lukewarm listing of NHPC. Mr Jaishankar, a retail investor who had applied for shares in the IPO but was not allotted any, said it was good that he did not get allotment. “I burnt my fingers in the Reliance Power IPO. It is a good thing that I did not lose any money on the NHPC IPO.”

NHPC’s issue of 168 crore shares was subscribed 23 times. Merchant bankers said though both the recent big ticket IPOs (NHPC and Adani Power) made subdued listing gains, the situation would not deter upcoming issues.

Adani Power’s shares are trading at Rs 100.85 (its issue price was Rs 100).

“There is no reason to feel jittery. The merchant bankers always balance the twin aspects of the company’s project needs and investor interest. But the volatility and choppiness in the markets may not give gains in the short term. But for long-term players, being part of such opportunities will be great. Good projects will continue to raise money,” said Mr R. Sankarakrishnan, Director at Saffron Capital Advisors.

The Rs 2,772-crore Oil India public issue is set to open on September 7. JSW Energy, Indiabulls Power, Cox and Kings (India) and Pipavav Shipyard are some of the companies that are likely to hit the market with their IPOs this year.

Meanwhile, the IPO of Jindal Cotex was subscribed 2.2 times on the last day of the issue on Tuesday. The 1.1-crore shares issue received bids for 2.4 crore shares. The portion reserved for the QIBs was subscribed 0.65 times, that for HNI 5.9 times and for retail 3.08 times. The price band for the issue was fixed at Rs 70-Rs 75.

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