30 SMEs raise `236 crore via IPOs in Apr-Jan

As many as 30 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) got listed on the stock market, raising Rs 236 crore, in the first 10 months of the current financial year.

In comparison, only 26 SMEs had launched initial public offers (IPO) and had raised a total of Rs 257 crore in the April-January period of 2013-14, as per the Sebi data.

The latest monthly figures show that two SMEs came out with the public issues in January, garnering a total of Rs 7 crore from investors. During the current fiscal, stock exchanges saw 12 IPOs in September on the SME platform - the highest for a month. The total funds garnered by these companies stood at Rs 90 crore.

Four SMEs came out with IPO in November, while 3 IPOs each were seen in May, June and July.

The SMEs which made their public debut during January are Karnavati Finance Ltd and Raghuvansh Agrofarms Ltd.

Leading bourses BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) had launched the SME platforms in March 2012, the only two bourses offering such a segment in the country.

So far, BSE has 82 companies listed on its SME platform with total market capitalisation of 

Rs 7,668.80 crore. NSE has six firms trading on its platform for SMEs.

The platforms provide opportunity to SME entrepreneurs to raise equity capital for growth and expansion. They also provide a chance to investors to identify and invest in good SMEs at early stage.