Despite near-term risks for equities, IPO charm to stay

Notwithstanding the nearterm risks stemming from the Assembly election outcome, which investors may extrapolate to the general election in 2024, along with volatile oil prices, asymmetrical global growth, and geopolitical tensions, analysts expect the buzz in the primary markets to remain intact in 2024.

- NIKITA VASHISHT

Subscription however, are likely to be lower as investors remain choosy and subscribe only to those initial public offerings (IPOS) where there is valuation comfort, analysts said.

"Investors are going to be very selective in the way they approach IPOs. They will back companies with strong fundamentals, a solid business moat, an experienced management team, and sound corporate governance," said Neha Agrawal, managing director and head-capital markets group, JM Financial.

Last week, four IPOS-Tata Technologies (Tata Tech), Gandhar Oil Refinery (India), Fedbank Financial Services (Fedfina), and Flair Writing Industries saw cumulative bids exceeding 2 trillion.

Among the lot, Tata Technologies garnered the most interest with its share sale getting oversubscribed nearly 70 times, with cumulative bids surpassing 1.56 trillion.