IRFC shares make weak debut: All you need to know

The IPO had opened for subscription on January 18 and the price band for the IPO was ₹25-26. This was the first public issue of 2021 and it received a strong response after it was launched.

Shares of the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) made a weak debut on the stock exchanges on Friday as they opened at ₹24.90 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The issue price of the shares was ₹26 and therefore the shares opened at a discount of 4.23 per cent. On BSE, IRFC shares opened at ₹25, down over 3.8 per cent.

A view of New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS), in Ajmeri Gate, New Delhi, India. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Here’s everything you need to know about the IRFC share debut:

1. The company is likely to use the proceeds from the IPO towards improving its equity capital base thus helping in the growth of the company by meeting the major portion of extra-budgetary resources requirement of the Indian Railways through market borrowings.

2. The IPO had opened for subscription on January 18 and the price band for the IPO was ₹25-26. This was the first public issue of 2021 and it received a strong response after it was launched.

3. IRFC's three-day share sale via initial public offering (IPO) which was valued at ₹4,633 crore ended on January 20 and was subscribed over 3 times on the BSE and NSE. The retail segment was subscribed 3.66 times, while it was 3.78 times for the Qualified institutional buyer (QIB) category and 2.67 times for non-institutional investors.

5. As of 3:30pm, IRFC shares traded 24.80, down 4.6 per cent from the issue price of ₹26.

6. IRFC was incorporated in 1986 and is a public-sector enterprise, owned completely by the central government. The main functions of IRFC are financing the acquisition of rolling stock assets, leasing of railway infrastructure assets and lending to entities under the railways ministry.