Mumbai: September is on track to be the busiest month for initial public offerings (IPOs)—both mainboard and SME—in 14 years, with over 28 companies entering the market so far, Moneycontrl reported, citing the latest monthly bulletin from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The bulletin also noted that an increasing number of listed companies are opting for qualified institutional placements to raise capital, with approximately Rs 60,000 crore secured in the first eight months of 2024.

Despite intermittent corrections driven by global cues, benchmark indices in the secondary market have risen, and the outlook remains bullish, according to the bulletin.

The primary equity market has seen a notable surge of interest in IPOs from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including significant oversubscriptions from domestic mutual funds. It was also observed that 54 percent of IPO shares allotted to investors were sold within a week of listing.

The RBI Bulletin, a monthly publication that provides insights into domestic and global economic developments, clarified that the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the central bank’s official stance.

In August, 10 companies raised a total of Rs 17,048 crore, the highest in 27 months, marking the strongest primary market activity since May 2022.

Of the funds raised in August, 57 percent—around Rs 9,715 crore—came from fresh capital issues, while Rs 7,333 crore was from offers for sale (OFS).

So far in 2024, 56 IPOs have raised Rs 65,000 crore, compared to just 20 IPOs that raised slightly over Rs 15,051 crore in the first eight months of 2023, with no offerings in January and February.

The renewed interest in IPOs is evident, with 25 companies filing draft red herring prospectuses (DRHPs) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in August alone.

In total, 92 firms have filed DRHPs in 2024, the highest since 2021, when 120 companies submitted draft papers.