Mumbai– Indian companies have raised Rs 49,175 crore in just the first seven months of the current fiscal, a State Bank of India (SBI) research report said on Monday.

According to the Economic Research Department (ERD) in the SBI Corporate Centre, surge in the country’s stock markets, along with easing of listing criteria encouraged many firms to hit the equity indices for capital.

“The rising interest in IPO could be attributed to a number of reasons… the easing of listing criteria for MSME resulting in more number of companies hitting the capital market and on the other hand, increased interest is from retail investors and strategic investors like sovereign wealth funds who view the rising market as an opportunity to deploy money,” the SBI Ecowrap report said.

“Moreover, the surge in the secondary market in general has encouraged many companies to hit the equity market for capital in search for better valuations. When the market rise it is the best time for promoters to raise money from the market.”

The report pointed out that over 110 Indian companies have raised Rs 49,175 crore in just the first seven months period of the current fiscal. The Indian IPO market picked up with 70 and 106 companies which were listed in the last two years.

“This further gained momentum in the current fiscal with 112 companies already hitting the IPO market till October 2017,” the report said.

“India raised a whopping Rs 46,121 crore and Rs 49,438 crore in FY10 and FY11 respectively. After this the market had turned lukewarm. In the current fiscal, Indian companies have raised Rs 49,175 crore in just 7 months period. Interestingly, this is more than the amount raised between FY12-FY16 put together.” (IANS)