The IPO of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd., the home-loan unit of India’s largest shadow lender, saw tremendous demand, being oversubscribed by more than 60 times. The offering aimed to raise ₹65.6 billion ($781 million), but bids soared to nearly $39 billion on the final day, reflecting the strong investor enthusiasm for Indian listings. This amount is equivalent to more than 1% of India’s GDP for the fiscal year ending 2024.
Institutional investors led the charge, with bids exceeding 200 times the shares allocated to them, while the retail segment was oversubscribed by seven times. This surge in demand mirrors the response seen for Tata Technologies Ltd.’s IPO last year.
India has been active in the IPO market, with $7.75 billion raised from listings so far in 2024 — more than the proceeds in each of the past two years. Investors have been chasing first-day gains, which have averaged about 30% this year.
Bajaj Housing aims to raise ₹35.6 billion through new shares, while its founder, Bajaj Finance, offered ₹30 billion in shares. Anchor investors, including the Government of Singapore, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan India, subscribed to ₹17.6 billion worth of shares ahead of the public sale.