The Indian investors had much to cheer about in 2005. The stock markets have seen a great run at the Sensex for the third successive year. The market has also seen a huge level of FII inflows into the country. FII investment in India in 2005 stood at $10.67 bn and the cumulative amount went up to $41 bn. The Indian stock market charged ahead, and the Sensex zoomed to a new high touching above 9400 points. The primary market too witnessed a positive response from investors. A total of 53 IPOs hit the market and about 46 received positive returns from investors. About Rs. 22,731 cr was raised from the primary market and about Rs. 23,000 cr was raised through IPO and FPO (Follow on Public Offering). During 2005, broking firms like IL&FS, India Infoline, and India Bulls tapped the markets through IPOs along with big issues like Shopper's Stop, Provogue and Suzlon Energy. The year also saw FPOs from ICICI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Punjab National Bank. The public issue market has been in full swing for the last two years and a huge amount of Rs. 55,458 cr was raised.
When the investors cheerfully painted a pretty picture in 2005 and wished for the situation to continue in 2006, the Yes Bank demat scam and IDFC IPO scam greeted the investors. Sebi, based on the investigation of possible manipulations of other IPOs issued in 2005, has directed National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and stock exchanges to look into the off-market transactions in shares after the allotment of IPOs.
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