India sees 19 IPOs worth $1.84B in 2020 December quarter: EY report

Reflecting strong momentum, India witnessed 19 initial public offerings (IPOs) worth $1.84 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and market sentiment remains positive in what could be a stellar 2021, according to a report.

Leading consultancy EY's India IPO Trends Report: Q4 2020 showed that there were a total of 10 IPOs in the main market and nine in the SME segment during this period.

In the latest December quarter, the largest IPO was that of Gland Pharma with an issue size of $869 million. There were just 11 IPOs in the year-ago period.

Globally, India ranks ninth in terms of the number of IPOs in 2020, with 43 IPOs raising $4.09 billion, as per the report.

Sandip Khetan, Partner and National Leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) at EY India, said, "There is a strong momentum in the IPO markets, and we are seeing an increased interest from companies across sectors looking to raise capital in the near term. Additionally, companies are keenly awaiting guidelines for direct listing in overseas markets. The market sentiment remains positive for what could be a stellar 2021."

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Real estate, hospitality and construction, and diversified industrial products were the most active sectors (in terms of the number of IPOs), with three IPOs launched in each sector (including main and SME markets), the report said.

The report further added that in 2020, global IPO volumes continued to accelerate, increasing by 19 percent to 1,363, while proceeds increased 29 percent year-on-year to a total of $268 billion.

Last year, IPO activity proved resilient to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic supported by low interest rates and expansionary monetary policies, EY stated.

"Despite a challenging year, 2020 [IPO] activity in the Asia-Pacific region surpassed 2019, increasing 20 percent (822) by volume and 45 percent ($136.2 billion) by proceeds in 2020," according to the report.

"The region saw the highest proceeds since 2010. Industrials led the sectors with 181 IPOs raising $20.8 billion in proceeds, followed by technology with 180 IPOs and $38.7 billion in proceeds, and materials, which saw 95 IPOs raising $7.4 billion," it added.