Dalal Street IPOs dry up! March sees lowest IPO count in 2 years with just 12 listings

The Indian IPO market, which has witnessed unprecedented demand from retail investors in recent years, has slowed down in the current calendar year as weak sentiment toward risky assets, driven by a prolonged downturn in the secondary market, has forced companies to delay their listing plans.

Adding to the market jitters, stricter SEBI regulations on disclosures and pricing have also made companies reconsider their IPO timelines.

While companies that have raised funds in the last two months have seen lukewarm demand for their issues, especially from retail investors—whose portion usually sees strong demand for fresh issues—subscriptions have come in lower compared to last year, reflecting a cautious sentiment.

So far in March, 10 companies, including both mainboard and SME segments, have raised funds, with two more set to list in the next couple of days, bringing the total count to 12. This marks the lowest monthly listing count in the last two years, with the previous low recorded in April 2023 at just 10 listings, as per the Trendlyne data.

2024 was a record-breaking year for new listings, with a whopping 340 companies successfully making their stock market debuts, taking advantage of bullish market conditions.

The strong pace also extended into January 2025, with another 29 listings, but momentum slowed in February as global trade tensions further ignited a sharp sell-off in local equities, wiping out billions of retail investors' wealth. Market participants adopted a wait-and-watch approach before making fresh investments, resulting in less demand for new issues on Dalal Street.

90% of March listings trade below IPO prices

Nine out of ten IPOs listed this month so far are currently trading below their issue prices, reflecting weak subscription levels during the bidding period. Unlike previous trends, no company received overwhelming investor interest. Eight IPOs saw subscription levels between 1x and 2x, while the remaining two were subscribed to 3.8x and 5.1x, respectively.

The muted response was largely due to reduced participation from retail investors, as no issue achieved a 100x subscription rate, a stark contrast to previous months. In February, two IPOs managed to exceed the 100x mark, whereas in January, 21 out of 29 IPOs witnessed subscription rates ranging between 100x and 950x in the retail segment, Trendlyne data showed.

In terms of stock performance in March, Shreenath Paper Products has emerged as the weakest performer, trading at a 60% discount to its IPO price. It is followed by PDP Shipping & Projects and NAPS Global, both trading 40% below their issue prices.

Other stocks, such as Nukleus Office Solutions, Super Iron Foundry, Paradeep Parivahan, and Divine Hira Jewellers, are down between 20% and 30% from their IPO prices. Overall, 43 out of 60 listings in 2025 so far are trading below their issue prices.

Stricter rules for new listings

After tightening rules for the listing and eligibility of SME public issues, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reportedly set to introduce stricter regulations on post-listing obligations and disclosures.

The regulator is expected to amend the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations by early April, introducing tighter disclosure norms for SMEs after listing on dedicated stock exchanges. The move follows repeated instances of irregularities, non-compliances, and manipulations within the SME ecosystem, Businessline reported.

Earlier this month, SEBI tightened Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) norms by doubling the minimum application size to two lots, enhancing fund utilization oversight, and restricting IPO proceeds from being used to repay loans to related parties.

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