NHAI infra trust’s IPO seeks up to $656 million

The National Highways Authority of India’s infrastructure investment trust is preparing to list its units through an initial public offering that may fetch as much as Rs 6,000 crore ($656 million), testing the strength of the nation’s market for new listings after some lukewarm debuts recently. Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust has set a price range of Rs 99 to Rs 100 a unit for the IPO, according to an advertisement. The company plans to take bids from anchor investors on March 10, and receive orders from the broader public from March 11 to March 13. The trust proposes to have an initial portfolio of five toll rodes in the states of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, spanning more than 260 kilometers (162 miles), the company’s offering document showed. Indian IPOs have seen subdued demand this year following two consecutive years of record first-time share sales. Shares of companies that went public in the country so far this year saw a weighted-average decline of 0.7% since their listings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares of Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions Ltd. tumbled 18% on Monday, their first day of trading after a $341 million IPO. SBI Capital Markets Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., ICICI Securities Ltd. and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd. are advising on the Raajmarg offering.