Letter to BS: Over half of 2018 IPOs trading below issue price

This refers to “Over half of 2018 IPOs trading below issue price” (June 19) makes a sad reading. In these days of galloping inflationary trends, dwindling bank interest rates, reduced post office deposit rates, and spurious chit companies, investors tend to take a reasonable risk and invest in shares and stock markets with a fond hope that they will get some capital gains and appreciation of their investments. But alas, their hopes are smartly belied by greedy corporate companies with over-valued initial public offerings (IPOs). This approach of the corporates including government-owned companies is retrograde and disappointing.

Earlier, prior to the Securities and Exchange Board of India came into being in 1992, the Controller of Capital Issues was doing a good job of pruning all the data including the pricing of IPO and rights issues. But Sebi has done little for investor protection, leaving the whole decision of pricing to the promoters.

It is time that Sebi does something tangible in this regard to mitigate the woes of investors and reduce their pains and take those companies to task for cheating people in a sophisticated way. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs too needs to initiate appropriate steps in this regard. 
 

B Venkateswaran  Chennai

Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:

The Editor, Business Standard

Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg 

New Delhi 110 002 

Fax: (011) 23720201  ·  E-mail: letters@bsmail.in

All letters must have a postal address and telephone number