An IPO Market Worth Tracking

The year 2023 is expected to wow corporate houses keen to raise funds from the capital markets. Market experts feel that unlike in 2022, initial public offerings (IPO) this year should exceed market expectations. A recent Ernst & Young (EY) report describes IPO trends as “stable” and promises a positive outlook. In the first quarter of FY2024 India led in terms of IPOs issued globally and a promising pipeline of IPOs wait to debut in the second half of 2023 and beyond. These IPOs should cumulatively rake in more than Rs 1 lakh crore from the capital markets over the next ten months. It is worth noting that the participation of retail investors has exploded, evident in the impressive surge in Demat accounts from four crore in 2019 to 11.6 crore in April this year, at an average monthly addition of 1.5 to two million new accounts every month!

A notable example of companies waiting in the wings is EbixCash, a Noida-based technology-enabled provider of digital products in the B2C and B2B sectors, which aims to raise Rs 6,000 crore through its IPO. Initial Public Offerings of numerous other companies are in the pipeline too in a promising market environment. Anticipation is high about a positive trajectory of the IPOs waiting in queue. We wish them all the very best!

Meanwhile, it’s that time of the year again when students fresh out of school begin to scout for the right institutions for chosen courses. They are faced with perhaps, the most crucial decision of their lives. Does the institution of choice have a good placement record? Does it have the agility to incorporate new elements in its course curriculum? What about infrastructure, like research laboratories, Wi-Fi connectivity, well-equipped classrooms, hostels and industry connects?

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the legacy engineering colleges. Every aspiring engineer dreams of getting into an IIT Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Kharagpur or Kanpur. Not counting Black Swan events like Covid -19 (that forced drastic changes in teaching methods) or technological disruptions like artificial intelligence that need to be introduced at breckneck speed, the IITs do not usually witness a shift in pedagogy. BW Businessworld’s annual Engineering Rankings reflect the best in pedagogy, research and overall experience at these and other institutes. The rankings usually differ only marginally from year to year, especially among the top 20 institutions. We hope these ratings benefit aspiring engineers, who also get to peek at the region-specific rankings that offer them options closer home.

Of course, we also bring to you all our regular columns and features.

Happy reading!