SEBI puts JSW cement's $477 million IPO on hold, leaves market guessing

SEBI on JSW Cement: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has surprisingly put JSW Cement's $477 million IPO on hold, an update on the regulator's website said on Monday. SEBI has not issued any reasons for such a decision, thereby keeping both the market as well as the company in darkness. Neither SEBI nor JSW Cement has responded to Reuters' requests for additional information.

JSW Cement, a flagship unit of billionaire Sajjan Jindal's steel-to-power JSW Group, filed the IPO application in August to tap the hot equities market of India and the fast-growing demand for the building material. The highly competitive local cement market is expected to almost double to $49.2 billion by 2029, driven by an expected boom in infrastructure investment after the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The IPO was also considered a strategic initiative by JSW Cement to consolidate its financial position, together with expanding business operations within a growing market. In this respect, the company would continue to prosper in the business ecosystem, whereby investors have developed an insatiable appetite for new issues of shares.

The IPO market in India has seen an upside, with 150 companies raising nearly $5 billion between January and July 2024, almost a two-fold increase in the amount raised during the same period last year. The move by SEBI to put the IPO in cold storage has caught many off-guard since it was set to ride this bullish trend.

The delay in JSW Cement's IPO has brought uncertainty to the market, and participants are anxiously waiting for a word or more from the regulator or company on this issue. As things stand, the reason behind SEBI's decision remains unknown, leaving questions as to what lies ahead of one of the most-awaited public offers of India.