<b>Street signs: </b> Bankers scramble for IRCTC mandate

Investment bankers are scrambling to grab the mandate for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which sells railway tickets online. Last week, the government had invited bankers to make presentations, which saw participation of both foreign and domestic banks. “The issue could generate a lot of foreign investor interest due to the company's strong position in the domestic e-commerce space,” said a banker, explaining their interest around the IPO. The high interest could lead to fierce bidding among bankers and see them quote low fees. The finance minister had said in his Budget speech that the government wanted to list three subsidiaries of Indian Railways — IRCTC, IRCON International and Indian Railway Finance Corp.               

Pavan Burugula
Taurus’ Ballarpur investment raises eyebrows

Small-sized fund house Taurus Mutual Fund is in trouble over its investments in Ballarpur Industries. Net assets value (NAV) of four of its debt schemes, with assets of Rs 1,941 crore combined, had to be lowered by 7-12 per cent last week after credit ratings of the paper company were downgraded by India Ratings. According to  Value Research data, Taurus had added Ballarpur’s debt paper to its portfolio only a month ago. “There was a buzz in the market over Ballarpur’s poor health. It is surprising the fund house took relatively higher exposure to the company’s debentures only a month ago,” said an industry watcher.                       
 
Chandan Kishore Kant
IPO march may stall 

Despite the traction in the secondary markets, March could end up as a weak month for initial public offerings (IPOs). The operators of Radio City and D-Mart will launch IPOs early next month. Bankers say besides these two there are hardly any other IPOs lined up for the month. “Although liquidity and market conditions are conducive for IPOs, not many companies are ready to hit the market. Some companies, such as Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL), which want to hit the market, are facing regulatory hurdles,” said an investment banker. Industry players say the outcome of state elections is seen as an uncertainty by issuers and they want to wait and watch.
 

Pavan Burugula