Two SME IPOs open offer; expect to raise Rs 18 crore

To tap upbeat investor sentiment, two small and medium enterprises (SME) on Tuesday launched their initial public offerings (IPOs) to raise nearly Rs 18 crore.

The companies, Libas Designs and Prolife Industries , will get listed on NSE's small and medium enterprises platform, Emerge. The initial share sale plans opened on Tuesday and will close on December 30.

According to draft papers, Libas Designs plans to mop up Rs 13.60 crore through its IPO while Prolife Industries aims to garner Rs 4.22 crore. The public issue of Veeram Ornaments is currently under way. The IPO will close tomorrow and shares of the company will list on BSE's SME platform. Proceeds of the issues will be utilised for business expansion plans and working capital requirements, among others.

The stock exchanges, BSE and NSE, had launched SME platforms in March 2012, becoming the only two bourses to offer such a segment in the country. Since then, several companies have got listed on them and some have even shifted to the main board.

The platform provides opportunity to SME entrepreneurs to raise equity capital for growth and expansion. It also provides immense opportunity for investors to identify and invest in good SMEs at an early stage. SMEs together raised Rs 490 crore through initial public offerings this year so far. Most of the funds were raised in September. In the whole of 2015, small companies mopped up only Rs 260 crore.