Vishal Retail shares triple in trading debut

MUMBAI: Shares of Vishal Retail Ltd, which runs supermarkets targeted at the Indian middle-class, rose as much as three times the offer price on their trading debut on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The shares listed at Rs 472.5, or 75 per cent higher compared with the offer price of Rs 270. They rose Rs 482.2, or 179 per cent, to Rs 752.2 at the 3:30 pm local time close, after having climbed to as much as Rs 809. The New Delhi-based company raised Rs 1.1 billion ($27 million) selling 4.07 million new shares in an offer that ended on June 13. Vishal Retail, which has 50 stores, plans to set up 32 more this financial year, Chairman Ram Chandra Agarwal told reporters in Mumbai last month. Smaller retailers such as Vishal Retail are raising money to compete with Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company and billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Group. While Reliance is spending more than $5.5 billion, Bharti Group plans to invest $2.5 billion in a retail network and a wholesaling venture with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Vishal Retail raised 290 million rupees in June last year in a pre-IPO placement, selling 200,000 shares to Housing Development Finance Corp and 1.25 million shares to some private investors at Rs 200 apiece.