IPO subscription status explained: QIB, NII and retail

During the bidding days, investors apply for shares. Times subscribed is the number of shares applied for divided by the number of shares on offer. “Subscribed 22 times” means investors bid for 22 times more shares than were available.

The figures shown during bidding exclude the anchor portion, which is allotted to selected institutions one working day before the IPO opens.

The shares in a mainboard IPO are divided between groups of investors, each with its own quota:

• QIB (qualified institutional buyers): mutual funds, foreign portfolio investors, banks, insurance companies and similar institutions.
• NII (non-institutional investors), also called HNIs: individuals and companies applying for more than ₹2 lakh. The NII quota is split: one-third for applications between ₹2 lakh and ₹10 lakh (“small NII”) and two-thirds for applications above ₹10 lakh (“big NII”).
• Retail (RII): individuals applying for up to ₹2 lakh.
• Some IPOs also reserve shares for employees or for shareholders of a listed parent company.

Under SEBI's rules, a company with the required profit track record must keep at least 35% of the net offer for retail investors, at least 15% for NIIs and not more than 50% for QIBs. A company that does not meet those conditions must give at least 75% to QIBs, with not more than 15% for NIIs and 10% for retail investors. The exact split for each IPO is in its offer document.

Bids for an IPO are collected through both BSE and NSE. The official subscription figure combines the bids received on both exchanges. Figures that count only one exchange's bids can be far lower: for a large IPO, the NSE-only figure can be roughly half of the combined one.

IPONexa shows the combined BSE + NSE figures as published by NSE, with the time NSE last updated them. During bidding we refresh them every 30 minutes on weekdays.

Most IPOs are open for three working days. The day-wise table on each IPO page shows the cumulative figures at the end of each bidding day (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3). Institutions often bid on the last day, so a low QIB figure on Day 1 or Day 2 is common and does not by itself mean weak demand.

Final figures are usually published on the evening the IPO closes and can be revised slightly after the exchanges reconcile the bids, which is why websites sometimes show small differences.

SME IPOs list on NSE Emerge or BSE SME and follow separate rules, including larger minimum application sizes. For SME issues on NSE, the exchange publishes only an overall subscription figure, which is what IPONexa shows. For SME issues listed only on BSE, we do not currently have subscription figures and say so on the IPO page.