Of the entire demand of about $190 billion, the demand from mutual funds stood at a relatively meagre figure of just about $2 billion (Rs 8,500 crore). Even this came only on the IPO’s last day.

More hype
“Mutual funds were acting responsibly as they have the investors money at stake, while retail investors were probably carried away by the hype more than being fundamentally guided,” mutual fund tracking firm Value Research CEO Dhirendra Kumar told PTI.

Till January 17, the third day of four-day bidding process, there was not a single application from the mutual funds, according to data available with the stock exchanges.

Mutual funds have applied for 18.68 shares worth about Rs 8,400 crore based on the IPO price of Rs 450 a share. The company fixed the price at the top end of the price band of Rs 405-450 per share, as most of the bids came at that level.

FIIs accounted for nearly half of the total demand while bidding for shares worth about $100 billion. Other domestic financial institutions such as banks and insurance firms bid for shares worth more than Rs 91,000 crore. “Concerns about likelihood of allotment of shares in a big issue may have made the mutual funds stay way,” Mr Kumar added.