Indian IPO market clocks record Rs 84,400 crore in H1 FY27, fundraising jumps 30%

Fundraising increased from Rs 64,900 crore in H1 FY26 to Rs 84,400 crore in the latest first half. Average listing-day gains also improved to 18%, against 10% a year earlier, while average retail oversubscription rose to 28 times from 25 times.September emerged as the strongest month for IPO activity, with 32 companies raising a combined Rs 40,400 crore. The amount accounted for more than half of the second quarter's fundraising and marked the highest monthly IPO mobilisation on record.Financial services companies accounted for 43% of the total capital raised during the first half, while capital goods companies led issuance volumes with 15 IPOs.Live EventsDomestic institutional investors provided substantial support to the equity market during the quarter, recording net equity inflows of Rs 1,69,400 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with Rs 13,900 crore from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

The inflows came despite a 5.7% decline in the Nifty 50 during September.IPO momentum gathers pace in second quarterThe strong first-half performance reflected the ability of IPO-ready companies to capitalise on the reopening of the issuance window, alongside stronger investor participation and the market's capacity to absorb a higher volume of offerings.Grant Thornton Bharat noted that investor demand remained firm across issues, with most offerings attracting strong oversubscription.

Retail participation also strengthened compared with H1 FY26, while the record fundraising demonstrated the depth of the domestic primary market.The SME segment also recorded robust activity, with 119 companies listing during the first half of FY27.Karan Marwah, Partner and Capital Markets Advisory Leader at Grant Thornton Bharat, said India's IPO market moved from caution to acceleration in Q2 FY27, helping deliver a record first half."While the scale of fundraising shows the market can absorb new issuance, investor demand stayed selective and increasingly focused on fundamentals, pricing, governance and the use of proceeds.

The quarter showed that successful IPO execution is not only about choosing the right window, but about being fully prepared when it opens," he said.Since 2022, 48 companies have used the mechanism, including 24 during the first five months of 2026.Companies across consumer internet, fintech, logistics and technology have utilised the route, while a growing number of large private enterprises are also pursuing public listings through this mechanism.The confidential filing route gives prospective issuers greater flexibility over the timing of their public offerings.

Companies can undergo regulatory scrutiny while keeping their IPO plans and financial information out of the public domain until they decide to proceed.Issuers have up to 18 months to launch their offerings after receiving SEBI's observations.Grant Thornton Bharat said the publicly visible IPO pipeline may not fully reflect the actual scale of prospective issuance, as several large companies could already be undergoing regulatory review through the confidential route."The public pipeline understates real IPO activity.

Many large issuers may already be under SEBI review but remain outside the public pipeline," the report said.259 companies file draft IPO papers in H1 FY27The IPO pipeline remained substantial during the first half, with 259 companies filing draft offer documents with SEBI.Of these, 100 were mainboard companies, while 159 belonged to the SME segment.However, the report cautioned that a large pipeline does not necessarily translate into completed listings.

The conversion of draft filings into public offerings depends on companies' readiness and the validity of regulatory approvals.Regulatory changes reshape IPO requirementsThe second quarter also saw several regulatory developments affecting IPO issuers.SEBI's one-time extension of IPO approvals ended on September 30, requiring companies whose approvals had lapsed to submit fresh filings.The regulator also increased the permissible change in issue size without requiring companies to refile their draft offer documents to 50%, from the earlier 20%, for issues opening by September 30.In another development, SEBI's board approved a proposal on September 24 allowing portfolio managers to invest in IPOs, potentially broadening participation in the primary market.For SME issuers, the one-time extension of exchange approvals also ended on September 30, with tighter entry requirements set to follow.The regulatory developments come against the backdrop of record first-half fundraising, rising retail participation and a substantial pipeline of companies seeking to access India's public markets.Disclosure: This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a Sebi-registered Research Analyst or an InvestmentAdviser.

Gaurav and their ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective Sebi-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution.

They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers. here(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)