In a record-breaking year, 135 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2023, raising a total of Rs 3,500 crore ($473 million). This surpassed the previous record set in 2018. The listings saw significant participation from anchor investors such as Rajasthan Global Securities, LRSD Securities, Bengal Finance & Investment, Authum Investment & Infrastructure, and Moneywise Financial Services.
Foreign portfolio investors also played a prominent role in these IPOs. Saint Capital Fund, Meru Investment Fund PCC-Cell I, Nav Capital VCC-Nav Capital Emerging Star Fund, Zinnia Global Fund PCC-Cell Dewcap Fund, and AG Dynamic Funds were among the regular participants.
The year was marked by remarkable oversubscriptions for several IPOs. Kahan Packaging (NYSE:PKG)'s IPO was oversubscribed more than 700 times while four other SME IPOs exceeded 300 times. High listing gains were a common feature of these listings.
Venture capital funds have also shown a growing interest in the Indian SME sector. India Ahead Venture Fund and VPK Global Ventures Fund-Scheme I have made substantial investments in this area. Despite the impressive performance of SME IPOs, concerns have been raised about the repetitive participation of certain anchor investors and foreign portfolio investors.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.