Listed cos garner `63,300 cr from capital market in April

NEW DELHI: Listed companies mobilised nearly Rs 63,300 crore from the capital market in April to fund their business expansion plans, with debt emerging as the most preferred route for fundraising.

Fresh capital was garnered by firms for debt payment, to fund capital expenditure for new projects, support inorganic growth like acquisitions as also for marketing and R&D purposes, market experts said.

Out of the cumulative Rs 63,278 crore garnered in April this year, funds totalling Rs 55,462 crore were mopped up from the debt market and the remaining Rs 7,816 crore came from the equity market, according to the data with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

In comparison, companies raised Rs 19,588 crore through equities and Rs 14,750 crore from debt market in April 2022. The higher fundraising in April last year through equities was primarily driven by preferential allotment of equity shares to the tune of Rs 13,675 crore and the Follow-on Public Offer of Ruchi Soya Industries that raked in Rs 4,300 crore through the route.

Of the total Rs 55,462 crore raised through debt markets in April this year, Rs 53,426 crore came from the private placement and Rs 2,036 crore was through public issuance. Market experts said that debt markets are mostly tapped by the financial sector companies who use funds for onward lending (as the economic cycle gathers pace) and boost capital buffers.

Within the equity segment, funds mostly came from preferential allotment of equity shares with companies raising Rs 4,835 crore through the route.

Further, a total of 10 firms collected Rs 1,110 crore through the initial public offerings (IPO). Of these, two-mainboard companies brought in Rs 931 crore and eight small and medium enterprises (SMEs) mopped up Rs 179 crore.

In addition, fresh capital to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore came in through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) route and Rs 871 crore were raised through four rights issues.