BENGALURU, Sept 16 (Askume) – Shares of Bajaj Housing Finance (BAJO.NS) more than doubled in early trade on Monday, giving the company a market capitalisation of 1.34 trillion rupees ($16 billion), making it India’s biggest value listed home loan financier.
The blockbuster listing is the latest development in India’s booming IPO market, which has seen more than 200 companies raise over $7 billion this year and the stock exchange (NSEI) hit a new high.
The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 (.NSEI) was little changed today after hitting a record high earlier.
The shares listed at Rs 150, up 114% from the issue price of Rs 70 and the fourth-highest listing gain among mainboard IPOs this year. It rose 135% to Rs 164.64 before giving back some of its gains.
“They have exceeded expectations and they have been able to keep the price unchanged even after almost an hour of trading, which is very good,” said Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research.
“The company’s listing also brings focus on the second and third-ranked companies – LIC Housing Finance (LICH.NS) and PNB Housing Finance (PNBH.NS).”
Shares of rivals LIC Housing and PNB Housing fell 3.5% and 5.9%, respectively, on Monday.
Bajaj Housing Finance’s $782 million IPO, India’s largest IPO so far in 2024, attracted bids worth about $38.6 billion last week , making it this year’s most popular public listing.
The company’s IPO target valuation is $7 billion. HUDCO (HUDC.NS), the second-largest home loan financier, is valued at about $6 billion.
A unit of non-bank lender Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS), analysts saidIt attracts investors due to its reputation, constant IPO excitement and increasing demand for luxury homes .
According to CNBC-TV18 , Bajaj Housing Finance Chairman Sanjiv Bajaj said the company’s net interest margin is likely to remain stable and he expects loan growth in the housing finance industry to be 12%-15% .
(1 USD = 83.8970 Indian Rupees)
