National Stock Exchange and Uttarakhand Govt Sign MoU To Enable The State's SMEs Raise Funds via IPOs

Also discussed, issuances of Sustainability Linked Bonds towards financing infrastructure and development projects. 

India’s leading stock exchange, National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Government of Uttarakhand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to spread awareness amongst MSMEs of the state for fund raising via IPO mechanism using NSE SME Platform - Emerge.

A team of Senior officials of Uttarakhand Government led by Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, visited NSE, Head Office at BKC, Mumbai today.

The MoU was exchanged between the Government of Uttarakhand and National Stock Exchange on 6th November 2023 at NSE BKC office, Mumbai. As part of the understanding, NSE with the support of the Government of Uttarakhand, will conduct awareness drive through seminars, MSME camps, knowledge sessions, road shows, workshops to guide corporates across the state for fund raising on NSE Emerge platform and handhold the companies in the listing process.

In addition to the customa5ry bell ringing ceremony, a high-level meeting was held among Uttarakhand Government & NSE officials in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami and Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, Managing Director & CEO, NSE. During the meeting various issues including the launch of Sustainability Linked Bonds/Green bonds, Outcome funding on Social Stock Exchange (SSE), generating employment opportunities for rural and urban youth, opportunities in the sector of Power trading and Investor Awareness Sessions across the state were discussed.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Government of Uttarakhand, said: “The Dev Bhoomi of Uttarakhand is a spiritual land brimming with natural destinations including rivers, glaciers and multiple such attractions. I congratulate the Directorate of Industries (MSME) of the Government of Uttarakhand for signing a MoU with the National Stock Exchange to encourage and support the MSMEs of our state and enable them to pursue the capital market for growth opportunities. As a part of the MOU, we shall jointly conduct awareness sessions for the MSMEs to help them understand the process of fund raising and the benefits of listing on the stock exchange and providing financial literacy programs for youth of the state. We envision launch of Sustainability Linked Bond / Green Bond for infrastructure projects.”

Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, NSE said, “Today, at NSE BKC Office, Government of Uttarakhand and National Stock Exchange have entered in a MoU to collaborate and support the growth of MSMEs via NSE Emerge, an alternative fund-raising platform for MSMEs. NSE Emerge enables SMEs to raise capital in an efficient manner and increase their visibility through the listing on the stock exchange.in collaboration with the Government and provide a walk-through of the fund-raising process. We urge the state MSMEs to come forward and avail the new source of financing through NSE Emerge. We are also committed to work with the state government to facilitate issuance of Sustainability Linked Bonds, Outcome funding on Social Stock Exchange (SSE), generating entrepreneurship opportunities for rural and urban youth, opportunities in the sector of Power trading and Investor Awareness Sessions across the state. We look forward for long term association with Government of Uttarakhand for exploring new opportunities under financial market development activity.”

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is the world’s largest derivatives exchange by trading volume (contracts) as per the statistics maintained by Futures Industry Association (FIA) for calendar year 2022. NSE is ranked 3rd in the world in the cash equities by number of trades as per the statistics maintained by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) for calendar year 2022. NSE was the first exchange in India to implement electronic or screen-based trading. It began operations in 1994 and is ranked as the largest stock exchange in India in terms of total and average daily turnover for equity shares every year since 1995, based on SEBI data. NSE has a fully integrated business model comprising exchange listings, trading services, clearing and settlement services, indices, market data feeds, technology solutions and financial education offerings. NSE also oversees compliance by trading, clearing members and listed companies with the rules and regulations of SEBI and the exchange. NSE is a pioneer in technology and ensures the reliability and performance of its systems through a culture of innovation and investment in technology.

For more information, please visit: www.nseindia.com

Happiest Mind Technologies Files IPO Papers with SEBI

Happiest Mind Technologies Ltd has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi for its initial public offering (IPO).

The offer consists of a fresh issue of shares aggregating up to Rs 110 crore and offer for sale of up to 3.56 crore equity shares, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

This is the first major IPO announced by a company since the imposition of lockdown in the country in March to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IT company, promoted by Ashok Soota, proposes to utilise the net proceeds from the fresh issue to meet long-term working capital requirement and general corporate purposes.

The company will not receive any proceeds from the offer for sale. The selling shareholders will be entitled to their respective portion of the proceeds of the offer for sale.

ICICI Securities and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) are the manager for the offer.

The Bengaluru-based company's shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE. PTI SUM

India Sees 10 IPOs in Mar Quarter; Median Deal Size Just $1 Mn

The country saw 10 initial public offerings worth USD 1.41 billion in the first three months of this year but the median deal size was just USD 1 million, according to a report.

SBI Cards and Payments' share sale alone accounted for USD 1.4 billion mop-up.

Consultancy EY on Thursday said consumer products and retail were the most active sectors with three IPOs launched on SME markets with an approximate size of USD 1 million each.

"India recorded 10 IPOs (USD 1.41 billion proceeds and USD 1 million median deal size) in the first quarter of 2020 with Indian stock exchanges (BSE and NSE including SMEs) ranking eighth globally in terms of number of IPOs," it said.

During the first quarter, the IPO (initial public offering) of SBI Cards and Payments was also the biggest in over two years. The issue size was USD 1.4 billion and the issue was subscribed over 22 times.

In the main markets -- the NSE and the BSE, there was one IPO in the first quarter versus five each in the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2019, representing a significant drop of 80 per cent, the report said.

"In the SME markets, there were nine IPOs in Q1 2020 versus 15 IPOs and 6 IPOs in Q1 2019 and Q4 2019 respectively, representing a significant drop of 40 per cent as compared to Q1 2019 and increase of 50 per cent over Q4 2019, respectively," it noted.

Sandip Khetan, partner and national leader (financial accounting advisory services), EY India, said the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact livelihoods and economies worldwide, creating uncertain times.

"Indian capital markets have experienced significant erosion of market capitalisation, and companies will take time to recover. While this may present a viable long-term investment opportunity, caution is being observed in the short-term.

"Sectors like life sciences, pharmaceuticals and digital are likely to revive sooner in the current economic climate," he said. PTI RAM

Govt to Soon Allow Indian Cos to List, Raise Funds Overseas

The government is likely to soon decide on permitting Indian companies to list their equity shares overseas, according to an official.

Apart from providing an additional fund raising avenue for the corporates looking to expand and boost their business activities, overseas listing of shares would also help in bringing more capital into the country.

The official said many companies are interested in listing their equity shares in foreign countries.

Currently, quite a few Indian companies have American Depository Receipts (ADRs) that are traded in the US. Some other corporates have their Global Depository Receipts (GDRs).

The official said the corporate affairs ministry and markets regulator Sebi are in favour of allowing Indian companies to list their equity shares in foreign countries. Other departments and regulators are also expected to be on board, the official added.

A decision is likely soon, the official said, adding that changes would need to be done in the companies law and Sebi regulations for permitting listing of domestic companies overseas.

Further, the official said that only public companies are likely to be given permission for overseas listing of equity shares.

Under the Companies Act, public companies should have at least seven shareholders and have no restriction on transferability of their shares, among other criteria.

A depository receipt is a foreign currency denominated instrument, listed on an international exchange, issued by a foreign depository to a domestic custodian and includes GDRs. PTI RAM

IT Consulting & Emerging Tech Firm Tranway Technologies to Raise up to Rs 4.2 Crores through IPO

Bangalore-based IT Consulting and Emerging Technology firm Tranway Technologies has announced its plans to raise up to Rs 4.2 Cr. through Initial Public Offering (IPO) that will open for subscription on 27th January 2020.

The IPO will comprise a fresh Issue of 42,40,000 shares of the face value of Rs.10 each. These scrips will be issued at Rs. 10 apiece. The issue will close on January 29th,2020. Following the IPO, the firm intends to list on Start-up platform of BSE Limited and will be among the first few Start-ups to be listed on the platform.

Finshore Management Services has been appointed as the Lead Manager for this issue.

Founded in 2015, Tranway Technologies is a provider of IT consulting services and emerging technology solutions. Besides, the company provides Product Development & Support and IT & Non-IT Staffing solutions to enterprises across the globe. The company reported more than Rs 5 cr. revenue in FY19 and has achieved sustainable growth over the past few years.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Bharat, Founder, and MD, Tranway Technologies said, “At Tranway, we have derived win-to-win policy to exceed business requirements, making our clients more competitive. With this IPO, we aim to scale up the business, expand our team and market presence. I am confident that the proceeds from the issue will help us achieve these objectives.”

Founded in 2015, Tranway Technologies is a provider of IT consulting services and emerging technology solutions. Besides, the company provides Product Development & Support and IT & Non-IT Staffing solutions to enterprises across the globe. Its array of service supports business agility by offering fast, customized, seamless and hassle-free solutions.

The 'WE' Ticker - WeWork Files to Go Public

Office sharing startup WeWork will be going public after its parent company filed papers Wednesday for a stock sale, despite losing money amid rapid expansion.

The We Company will trade under the "WE" ticker, but officials declined to say how much they intend to raise with the share offering. Some news reports estimated the sum at between $3 and $4 billion.

The company also reached an agreement with a consortium of large banks including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs for a $6 billion credit facility that will close with the stock offering.

The New York-based We Company submitted its registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission announcing a plan to raise funds to cover operating expenses and capital spending for a workplace it sees as increasingly globalised, urbanised and flexible.

The filing, which states that the company's "mission is to elevate the world's consciousness," showed revenues quadrupled between to 2016 and 2018 to $1.8 billion.

But the company reported a loss of $1.6 billion last year, and through the first six months of 2019, it lost $690 million on $1.5 billion in revenues.

"We have a history of losses and, especially if we continue to grow at an accelerated rate, we may be unable to achieve profitability at a company level for the foreseeable future," the company warned.

The co-working company, which calls itself a pioneer in the "space-as-a-service" business, launched in 2010 and now has over 528 locations in 111 cities across 29 countries, according to the SEC filing.

Growth accelerated in the aftermath of the financial crisis and has been supported by mobile technologies that have allowed people to make their work portable.

The spaces, decorated with bright colors and industrial themes, offer free coffee and renters are provided office supplies and utilities.

"When we started, it was obvious to us that the solutions available in the market were not meeting the needs of the modern workforce," the company said in the filing.

"Rather than a static solution locked to a long-term lease, we imagined the future of work: dynamic, well-designed workspaces for less, a suite of value-added products and services, all powered by data, analytics and deeply integrated technology that helped our members unlock creativity and productivity."

The filing highlights the role of the company's co-founder and chief executive, Adam Neumann, who will have a controlling stake after the company goes public and has come under scrutiny over conflicts of interest.

The company disclosed that it had leased from "landlord entities in which entities Adam has or has had a significant ownership interest," listing the matter in the filing's "risk" section among transactions that "present possible conflicts of interest that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations."

Another risk would be the hit from a severe financial downturn, which could severely hit smaller businesses and freelancers who comprise a core client group for the company.

But the filing goes on to say that WeWork weathered downturns in the London real estate market after Brexit and in Buenos Aires after a monetary crisis that hit Argentina in 2018.

"Not only do we believe our business model mitigates the pressures of an economic recession, we also believe that our model could position us well in a downturn," it said in the filing. "An economic downturn may provide us an opportunity to further scale our platform at more attractive unit economics." (AFP)

HDFC Raising $1.4 Bn for its NBFC Arm through IPO

India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank Ltd, is planning to go for an initial public offering (IPO) of its NBFC arm, HDB Financial Services Ltd., before March 31 in a deal that could see the company raise more than ₹100 billion ( ~ US$1.4 billion), reported Bloomberg, citing people aware of the development at HDFC which is yet not in public.

HDFC is working with Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley to manage an initial public offering of its NBFC unit, said the report. The bank plans to sell the shares in HDB Financial Services Ltd. before March 31.

Founded in 2007, HDB Financial Services is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) that offers various products such as personal loans, commercial vehicle loans, gold loans, and loans against property.

As India is going through liquidity crunch and NBFCs are among who suffered most, HDFC aims to raise funds in order to expand its lending services through its shadow banking unit and selling shares in the unit will help the Aditya Puri-led bank raise funds.

The upcoming IPO is expected to be a mix of primary and secondary share sale and it will largely be a primary capital raising exercise given the current market conditions, said a report on same by LiveMint.

Notably, despite the NBFC crisis in the country when other NBFCs got hit by rising borrowing costs after the India witnessed shunning down of credit market post the infamous crisis at IL&FS, the credit profile of HDB Financial has remained unscathed even as many other shadow lenders in the country have suffered.

According to HDB website, HDBFS is accredited with CARE AAA & CRISIL AAA ratings for its long-term debt & Bank facilities and an A1+ rating for its short-term debt & commercial papers, making it a strong and reliable financial institution.

HDB Financial Services has about 1000 branches spread across 22 States & 3 Union Territories in India.

HDB Financial reported a profit of 11.5 billion rupees in the year ended March 31 on a total income of 87 billion rupees, data available on the lender’s website shows.

Fintech segment is one of the most lucrative business segment in India. To recall, Japan's SoftBank is too reportedly setting up a big fintech platform in India and for this Softbank is said to be finalizing a massive US$1 billion deal by investing $1 billion in Mumbai-based Piramal Enterprises' financial services arm, which primarily deals in wholesale and corporate debt.

In 2017, A Total of 101 Indian Startups Exited and 10 Filed for IPOs Till Date

A recent CB Insights report has put forth some startling facts about the Indian startup industry. The report revealed that a high number of technology startups in the ecosystem made a decision to exit this year. In fact, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) filed by startups in 2017 till date has reached the most the country has witnessed in 5 years since 2012.

Till a couple of years ago, there was a looming concern in the Indian subcontinent that the tech ecosystem wasn't witnessing too many exits of startups through mergers & acquisitions or IPOs. But, CB Insights' current report is testimonial of the fact that the situation is changing for better.

According to the report by the US based research firm, the number of first exits witnessed in Indian tech companies has tripled from 52 in the year 2012 to 184 last year in 2016. The report also noted that even though between 2015 and 2016, the exit activity seen in the ecosystem remained the same, the IPOs saw a whopping 400 per cent increase– from 1 to 4.



India is home to the third largest number of technology driven startups in the world, after the US and the UK, according to a study done by Assocham in association with Thought Arbitrage Research Institute last year.

The third largest tech ecosystem in the world has registered a decent increase in deal activity and active investors in the recent times. Despite this, more and more tech startups in the country are choosing to not ride the cash boat provided by private equity firms, VC's and any other investment institution.

When a startup goes the Exit way, it provides capital to the startup investors. This capital received can then be utilised to return the money owed to the startup's limited partners or to the investors themselves.

For the uninitiated, startups can make an exit by either taking the mergers and acquisitions route or going for IPOs. According to CB insights report for the year 2016, 180 Indian startups exited through M&A, while four chose the IPO route.

The latest CB Insights report highlights that a total of 101 startups exited in 2017 Year-To-Date (August 1, 2017), with 10 IPOs, six of which took place in the month of June and July itself.

The report also revealed that when it comes to 6 industries that witnessed the most exits since 2012, the advertising, sales, & marketing industry occupied the numero uno position, by registering 37 exits during that time period. With 23 exits, the IT solutions & software development industry occupied the second position.

The CB Insights report also showed that exits among marketplace startups have grown from a dismissal 1 in 2012 to 18 last year. For 2017, the industry (marketplace) is currently leading the way with 9 exits.

According to the report, the Food and grocery industry has also seen an increase in exits- from 1 in 2012 to 10 in 2016. It also noted that ten of the most well-funded tech companies in the country ended up raising huge capital in ‘pre-exit’ funding. Videocon d2h earned a special mention in the report as it raised the most money before it merged with Dish TV Videocon in 2016, at $300 million.

In 2017, A Total of 101 Indian Startups Exited and 10 Filed for IPOs Till Date

A recent CB Insights report has put forth some startling facts about the Indian startup industry. The report revealed that a high number of technology startups in the ecosystem made a decision to exit this year. In fact, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) filed by startups in 2017 till date has reached the most the country has witnessed in 5 years since 2012.

Till a couple of years ago, there was a looming concern in the Indian subcontinent that the tech ecosystem wasn't witnessing too many exits of startups through mergers & acquisitions or IPOs. But, CB Insights' current report is testimonial of the fact that the situation is changing for better.

According to the report by the US based research firm, the number of first exits witnessed in Indian tech companies has tripled from 52 in the year 2012 to 184 last year in 2016. The report also noted that even though between 2015 and 2016, the exit activity seen in the ecosystem remained the same, the IPOs saw a whopping 400 per cent increase– from 1 to 4.



India is home to the third largest number of technology driven startups in the world, after the US and the UK, according to a study done by Assocham in association with Thought Arbitrage Research Institute last year.

The third largest tech ecosystem in the world has registered a decent increase in deal activity and active investors in the recent times. Despite this, more and more tech startups in the country are choosing to not ride the cash boat provided by private equity firms, VC's and any other investment institution.

When a startup goes the Exit way, it provides capital to the startup investors. This capital received can then be utilised to return the money owed to the startup's limited partners or to the investors themselves.

For the uninitiated, startups can make an exit by either taking the mergers and acquisitions route or going for IPOs. According to CB insights report for the year 2016, 180 Indian startups exited through M&A, while four chose the IPO route.

The latest CB Insights report highlights that a total of 101 startups exited in 2017 Year-To-Date (August 1, 2017), with 10 IPOs, six of which took place in the month of June and July itself.

The report also revealed that when it comes to 6 industries that witnessed the most exits since 2012, the advertising, sales, & marketing industry occupied the numero uno position, by registering 37 exits during that time period. With 23 exits, the IT solutions & software development industry occupied the second position.

The CB Insights report also showed that exits among marketplace startups have grown from a dismissal 1 in 2012 to 18 last year. For 2017, the industry (marketplace) is currently leading the way with 9 exits.

According to the report, the Food and grocery industry has also seen an increase in exits- from 1 in 2012 to 10 in 2016. It also noted that ten of the most well-funded tech companies in the country ended up raising huge capital in ‘pre-exit’ funding. Videocon d2h earned a special mention in the report as it raised the most money before it merged with Dish TV Videocon in 2016, at $300 million.