With the substantial listing gains made by some recent IPOs and a slew of companies lining up to tap the stock market, the revival of the Primary Market in India appears to be real.

On August 16, SKS Microfinance made history, as it became the first firm from India's nascent yet fast growing microfinance sector, which lends tiny loans to poor people, to list on a stock exchange. Well, that's about history. The other part of the story is that the Vikram Akula-promoted company listed not only with a little over 5% premium on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at Rs 1,040, as against the issue price of Rs 985, but also soared within minutes to touch Rs 1,162 in intra-day trade, confirming the trend wherein a majority of IPO issues listed with significant premiums on the bourses. For instance, Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs the popular food chain Domino's Pizza, listed on February 8, 2010 at Rs 161.60, as against the offer price of Rs 145, i.e., at a premium of about 12%. The stock has since gained a hefty 217% to close at Rs 460, as on August 13, 2010.

In fact, according to a study byThe Analyst, of the 61 companies which hit the market with their IPOs during the last one year, 31 or about 50% of them have delivered handsome returns post-listing, with prices of two of the stocks Edserv and Jubilant FoodWorks more than tripling. Further, four stocks have generated returns in excess of 100%, while ten stocks have turned in returns between 50-100%, as on August 16, 2010. On the flip side, though, stocks like Austral Coke and Coral Hub have lost more than 90% of their values.

The Analyst Magazine, Initial Public Offerings, IPOs, Microfinance Sector, National Stock Exchange, Primary Market, Sovereign Debt Crisis, Global Stock Markets, Corporate Earnings, Global Economy, IPO Market, Market Regulators.