GIFT City loses 1st-ever IPO as XED withdraws

Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) GIFT City has lost its first initial public offering (IPO) as XED Executive Development withdrew the public issue due to tepid response from investors amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia. “The company decided to withdraw the public issue in the current environment and hopes to tap the market at an appropriate time in the future,” it said in a press release.

“Despite strong retail interest in the offering, a significant portion of prospective retail applicants were unable to complete their bids within the offering window owing to KYC-related procedural bottlenecks, resulting in a material gap between expressed interest and actual subscription.”

IPO subscription

The IPO subscription was scheduled during March 16-30. The company had postponed the opening as well as closing dates of subscription on two different occasions. XED’s shares were to be listed on the NSE International Exchange and India International Exchange at the Gujarat-based financial hub.

XED got muted responses from institutional players, reflecting the global risk-off sentiment, the company added. Proceeding with the public issue in the current environment would not have served the best interests of incoming shareholders or the long-term market standing of the company, it said.

All eyes were on this IPO which was scheduled to raise $12 million from the public offering. The heat felt in primary as well as secondary markets due to the aggravated tension in West Asia has been weighing on investor sentiment across global markets. In FY26, benchmark index Sensex saw its worst year since FY20 and fell over 7%.