UPDATE 1-Anand Rathi's broking unit soars 9% in India IPO, valued at $227.5 million

(Rewrites throughout to add details and update share move) By Vivek Kumar M Sept 30 (Reuters) – Shares of Anand Rathi's broking arm jumped 9% in their market debut on Tuesday, giving the Indian financial services firm a 20.2 billion-rupee ($227.5 million) valuation as strong investor demand marked a busy IPO season. Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers opened at 442.6 rupees, above the 414-rupee issue price. The offering was subscribed 20.66 times, led by heavy demand from qualified institutional buyers, who subscribed 43.8 times and non-institutional investors, whose portions were booked 28.6 times. The listing comes at a busy time for India's primary market, with companies tapping investors for funding even as India's benchmark equity indexes underperform their Asian peers amid headwinds from U.S. tariffs. Big-ticket IPOs, such as Tata Capital’s $1.75 billion issue — the country’s largest this year — along with planned debuts by LG Electronics and investment platform Groww, underscore the breadth of companies looking to ride the wave. Analysts highlighted Anand Rathi's steady growth in revenue, profit and client base as key strengths, but cautioned that the company faces stiff competition in India's crowded broking industry, which counts more than 4,800 registered players. India's securities watchdog has tightened scrutiny of brokers in recent years, introducing rules such as peak margin requirements, tighter disclosure norms and enhanced surveillance to curb market risks. "In the short term, regulatory headwinds mean investors shouldn't expect outsized gains right away," said independent market analyst Ambareesh Baliga. "But over the longer run, the broking business stands to benefit from the surge in retail investors entering the market." The firm's revenue rose 24% to 8.46 billion rupees and profit surged 34% to 1.04 billion rupees in the year to March 31, 2025, from a year earlier. The broker raised 2.2 billion rupees from anchor investors including HDFC Mutual Fund and Kotak Small Cap Fund on September 22. The offering only comprised fresh shares. ($1 = 88.7740 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Yagnoseni Das and Vivek Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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