"The opportunity for India now is great. MUMBAI/HONG KONG: A surge in first-half India IPO activity is likely to pale in comparison to the second half which could see over $6 billion in deals, banking sources said, with investors encouraged by a pick-up in economic growth and unfazed by Britain 's vote to leave the European Union Interest in Indian listings was strong even in the immediate wake of the British decision. If we get our acts together, post Brexit when everything looks dark, India looks very bright," R. Shankar Raman , chief financial officer at the industrial conglomerate told reporters.First-half IPO activity jumped nearly 80 percent to $1.04 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed on Monday, with the market on track for its best year in six. Last week staffing firm Quess Corp saw its $60 million IPO oversubscribed 144 times while shares in city gas distributor Mahanagar Gas jumped 30 percent in their market debut on Friday.Larsen & Toubro Ltd, whose software services unit, L&T Infotech , announced on Monday the launch of an $183 million IPO on July 11, was also upbeat. The potential for around $7 billion in IPO deals this year contrasts with $2.2 billion in 2015.The January-June period this year also marked the highest volume in Indian IPOs for a first-half period since 2010, the data showed.Key deals will include the India unit of British telecoms group Vodafone which is planning an offering worth as much as $2.5 billion and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd's up to $1 billion listing.

Source: Economic Times July 04, 2016 11:26 UTC