The National Stock Exchange (NSE) tests investor appetite in a landmark public debut on Thursday, concluding a decade-long journey to the stock market. The NSE stock is likely to make a modest debut despite strong institutional participation, with more than 100 qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), excluding anchor investors, bidding for ₹4,498 crore worth of shares, according to three people familiar with the share sale allotments.
Institutional participation has been strong, while retail investor bidding has been relatively subdued. The unofficial grey market premium (GMP) fell from around 21% at the start of bidding on 17 September to 2% at the close of bidding on 21 September, amid concerns over the valuation.“The NSE is likely to witness a flat to modest premium at listing, given the relatively tepid retail appetite,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst.
The exchange is expected to list at a modest premium of 4.5%, or ₹81, based on the latest GMP reported by IPO tracker Chittorgarh. National Pension Scheme Trust (NPS Trust), LIC, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Societe Generale, ICICI Mutual Fund, Nomura Singapore, Quant Mutual Fund, WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund and Mirae Asset Mutual Fund were among the top 10 bidders, the people said, requesting anonymity.“Some of the investors that participated in the anchor book have also come in the QIB portion,” one of the people said.
Entities such as Societe Generale also act as participants in the participatory-notes market, with several investors, including hedge funds, investing through them in the IPO, the person added. QIBs outside anchor bookThe QIB portion excluding anchor investors accounted for 19.94% of the total issue, or ₹4,499 crore, and was subscribed around 12.7 times.
The top 10 buyers accounted for ₹2,234.15 crore of this, according to the second person, citing allotment documents reviewed by Mint. NPS Trust received the largest allocation at ₹362.47 crore, followed by LIC at ₹342.98 crore, BNP Paribas Financial Markets at ₹317.59 crore and Societe Generale at ₹285.44 crore.
The mutual fund investors among the leading QIBs included ICICI Mutual Fund, with an allocation of ₹229.43 crore, followed by Quant Mutual Fund at ₹185.22 crore, WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund at ₹104.15 crore and Mirae Asset Mutual Fund at ₹92.13 crore.
Based on subscription levels, NSE generated the highest demand per rupee raised, at four times, compared with large issues above ₹15,000 crore such as LIC (2.06 times), Hyundai Motor India (1.93 times), Tata Capital (1.65 times) and Paytm (1.48 times), the second person said.nseAt ₹22,569 crore, NSE's IPO is India's second-largest public issue.
The largest was Hyundai Motor India's ₹27,859 crore IPO, which listed in October 2024. NSE reported operating revenue of ₹16,601 crore and net profit of ₹10,302 crore in FY26, compared with BSE Ltd’s total revenue of ₹5,035.50 crore and net profit of ₹2,496.98 crore, according to exchange filings.
MSEI listingIn addition to its primary listing on the BSE, NSE shares will be listed on the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) under the permitted-to-trade category. The mechanism allows securities already listed on a recognized exchange to be traded on another exchange, improving market access and liquidity.
However, the NSE would not be required to make full disclosures to MSEI beyond those made to the BSE under its listing agreement, according to the information provided. Broking officials, requesting anonymity, said they expected the stock to consolidate after listing.
Two of the three listed exchanges—BSE, MCX and IEX—opened at premiums to their issue prices, while one debuted at a discount. MCX, the first stock exchange to list, debuted on 9 March 2012 at ₹1,387 a share, a 34% premium to its issue price. BSE, the second exchange to list, opened at ₹1,085 a share on 3 February 2017, a 35% premium to its issue price of ₹806.
Energy exchange IEX, which listed seven months later, opened at ₹1,500 a share, a 9.09% discount to its issue price. Grey-market pricingThe GMP for NSE has fallen 63% since 11 September, when the company announced its issue price band of ₹1,700-1,785 a share.
The band was lower than the ₹2,000 widely anticipated in the unlisted market, according to another broker.“The price band was fixed to leave something on the table for small investors,” said a banker involved in the book-building process. Against rival BSE Ltd’s valuation of around 47 times earnings, NSE is valued at approximately 42 times its FY26 earnings.
As of August-end, NSE had an equity cash-market share of 92.2%, an equity futures share of 99.8% and an equity options share of 68.6%, according to exchange data.“Given the regulatory curbs on the popular index options product since November 2024 and the RBI's funding restrictions on proprietary traders, most recently from 1 July 2026, the pricing had to be competitive.
As seen, it has attracted strong institutional and HNI interest,” one of the people said. The IPO was priced at the upper end of the ₹1,785 price band. Total demand, including the public and anchor portions, stood at ₹2.59 trillion, based on subscription levels of 25 times for the anchor portion, 12.68 times for the QIB portion, 6.55 times for the non-institutional investor and high-net-worth investor portions, and 1.39 times for the retail portion.
While retail participation was relatively subdued, another banker said institutional demand could support a strong debut despite the fall in the GMP.“There are no concerns around the listing being a dud one,” said the third person.