Equity issuances see a spurt in March quarter

Equity capital raising has witnessed a 47% rise in the first three months of 2017 compared with the corresponding period in 2016. So far, 53 firms have raised $2.8 billion through equity market offerings, Thomson Reuters said in a note. This increase is mainly on account of buoyancy in follow-on issuances which stood at $2.3 billion for the March quarter – a 49% jump from $1.5 billion in 2016. Also, IPOs have increased 41% year-on-year to $560 million. The financial sector raised $1.3 billion or 44% of the total funds raised. YES Bank had the biggest equity issuance, raising $750 million through QIP. Among IPOs, Avenue Supermarts was the largest issuance, raising $200 million. Among investment banks, Citi Capital Markets led the league tables with a market share of 14.5%.