According to a Prime Database report, a Delhi-based primary market monitor, for the past three years, there has been a considerable growth as far as the number of public issues are concerned. It has increased from 65 during 1998-1999 to 110 during the first nine months of the current fiscal, showing a trend that it would definitely be more than double that of last year by March 2001.

However, there has been a steady decline in the total amount raised during the same three-year period. It has come down from Rs 7,911 crore during 1997-1998 and Rs 7,673 crore in 1998-1999 to just Rs 3,747 crore during the first nine months of the current fiscal. While the period had seen 110 public issues, the response to them was moderate. Of the 110 issues, 103 (94 per cent) were initial public offerings (IPOs) who together offered only 58 per cent of the period's total amountThe period dominated by equity at premium issues cornering 48 per cent of the total amount offered. However, by numbers, 64 of the 110 issues were for equity at par. The premium constituted only 27 per cent of the period's total issue amount.

There were 11 mega issues with a single issue size of Rs 100 crore. The year also saw 28 medium issues with the size of Rs 10 crore and above per issue.There were 51 issues below Rs 3 crore, including one issue below one crore. Average issue size for the year so far was Rs 34 crore. In terms of underwriting, only 16 out 110 issues were underwritten with only 38 per cent of the public issue amount underwritten. The preferential reservations were only two per cent of the total public issue amount. On preferential basis, 10 issues were offered to NRIs seeking to raise Rs 15.30 crore. While mutual funds/financial institutions participated in two issues on a firm allotment basis, they participated in 10 issues on preferential basis. The amount collected as application money was Rs 3,464 crore (94 per cent) of the total net issue of Rs 3,688.75, which was offered to the Indian public.

Interestingly, Hyderabad led the pack with 63 issues opting for listing and 39 companies have their plants in Andhra Pradesh followed by 19 in Maharastra. Hughes Tele.com (I) Ltd was the largest IPO with Rs 749 crore and the smallest IPO was Recursion Software Ltd with just about Rs1 crore.