IPO amid market volatility: Bajaj Housing Finance has filed preliminary papers with the capital markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 7,000 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The forthcoming IPO involves a fresh issue of equity shares of up to Rs 4,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of equity shares worth Rs 3,000 crore by parent Bajaj Finance, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).
Bajaj Housing Finance’s plans to raise funds through a primary issue worth Rs 4,000 crore marks the first high-profile IPO filing since the recent Lok Sabha elections in the country. In September 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a list of non-bank lenders with assets under management of Rs 5,000 crore and established norms mandating that Bajaj Housing Finance must be listed on stock exchanges by September 2025.

Another lender's IPO 

This move follows the recent listing of another mortgage lender, Aadhar Housing Finance, owned by Blackstone. The IPO is being managed by India's Kotak, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs.
Notably, the corporate sector has been upbeat that the new government will continue to unleash policy-level decisions to promote industry, especially the manufacturing sector in the country. Republic Business tried to reach out to sector-specific corporates, who did not wish to be named and said the boost to infrastructure must continue, adding that companies will not shy away from launching IPOs in the country’s capital markets. Automobile, aviation, highway and road infrastructure are some of the areas where India Inc wants the government’s policies to continue focussing on. However, experts said the IPO spree will continue in the company with many small and large cap companies ready to make IPO debut this year. 
Besides, social spending in the sectors such as housing, sanitation and rural development are areas which may get government’s budget allocation during the full Union Budget which will take place in July this year. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led government had in its last term set aside a huge chunk of funds on sunrise sectors including semiconductor chip making and even the new age sectors such as fintech and medtech. 

(With Reuters/PTI inputs)