MUMBAI: Shares of Waaree Energies Ltd jumped almost 75% early in their trading debut after a US$514mil initial public offering (IPO) by India’s largest solar-panel maker, bringing back optimism for the market after the nation’s biggest IPO disappointed investors last week.
The stock climbed to as high as 2,624.40 rupees yesterday, from its issue price of 1,503 rupees. The Mumbai-based firm’s IPO had seen strong interest, getting subscribed more than 70 times and attracting investments from the likes of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, BlackRock Inc and Morgan Stanley.
Waaree had come to the market at a time when investor interest in India’s renewable-energy sector has been surging amid a world-beating rally in some stocks this year.
Its strong listing may also signal that India’s booming IPO market is back on track after suffering a setback last week, when shares of Hyundai Motor India Ltd dropped in their debut following a record US$3.3bil IPO.
A bright outlook for the Indian renewables sector, whose development has become a focus for the government, has attracted investors to Waaree, said Nitin Mangal, an analyst at Trudence Capital Advisors. “Waaree is supposed to do well going forward as they have good presence in the value chain across the solar sector.”
Waaree sells products such as solar modules and inverters. The company’s business prospects align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal to boost renewable-energy production by more than twofold from current levels. — Bloomberg
