Power Grid lists at 63% premium on BSE
Power Grid lists at 63% premium on BSE
Mumbai: Power Grid Corp. of India (PGCIL) debuted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) with a 63% gain on Friday.
The company, which had issued 574 million shares at a price of Rs52 each, got listed at Rs85, touched a high of Rs109.40 and closed the first trading day at Rs100.65.
In contrast, the broader markets as represented by the Sensex ended the day without any major gains. Sensex closed at 17,773—down 0.02% as against Thursday’s close of 17,777.14. PGCIL’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 65 times. Other power stocks also bucked the trend of PGCIL. On BSE, power stocks fell by 5-6%. The shares of power companies such as Reliance Energy Ltd and Tata Power Co. Ltd fell by 2% and 4.9% and closed at Rs1,447.15 and Rs944.1 a share, respectively, on Friday. Other power stocks that fell on Friday include GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd, which lost 5.6% to close at Rs676.15 a share, PTC India Ltd, down 6.7% at Rs90.55 a share, Neyveli Lignite Corp. Ltd, which lost 6% to close at Rs108 a share, NTPC Ltd and Torrent Power Ltd which lost 5.2% each and closed at Rs226.4 and Rs121.15 a share.
PowerGrid’s IPO has been among the best performing over the past few months. IPOs of companies such as Simplex Projects Ltd, Allied Digital Services Ltd gave a 75% return to investors on the listing day.
PGCIL’s IPO has brought in big gains for the grey market. “It was like a pre-Diwali bash for the grey market investors and traders here," said a broker in Ahmedabad, who did not wish to be identified. Before listing, PGCIL shares were traded at a premium of Rs26 per share in the grey market, and each application was sold for Rs4,000, as against the usual price of Rs2,000-2,500. “As the stock listed at a huge premium, these investors stood to make handsome gains," the broker added.
“PGCIL was priced a few weeks ago and the market has gone up since, so the stock had to catch up," said Shriram Iyer, head of research at Edelweiss Securities Ltd. “Besides, as with all public sector unit (PSU) stocks, there was a built-in discount, which has been cashed in at listing. The company is looked upon as a long-term player and that is another reason for the market’s appetite for the stock."
Being the monopoly player, PGCIL is seen as a strong bet. “Power transmission will get a boost in next few years because of the increase in power generation capacity," said Deven Choksey, chief executive officer and managing director of KR Choksey Shares & Securities Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based broking firm. “Investors don’t mind paying a premium for owning such a stock."
Rural Electrification Corp. and National Hydroelectric Power Corp., both state-owned companies, also are expected to enter the capital markets this year.
gayatri.r@livemint.com
Sunil Raghu and Ashwin Ramarathinam contributed to this story.
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