Lalithaa Jewellery Mart made its debut on the Indian stock exchanges on August 24, with shares listing at a premium of around 32% over the company’s initial public offering (IPO) price.

The stock opened at ?265 on the NSE, representing a 31.84% premium to its issue price of ?201. On the BSE, it opened at ?265.30, a 31.99% premium.

The jewellery retailer’s ?1,700-crore IPO was open for subscription from August 17 to 19. The issue comprised a fresh issue of up to ?1,200 crore and an offer for sale of ?500 crore.

The IPO received strong investor participation, with the issue subscribed 62.97 times overall, according to CNBC-TV18. The qualified institutional buyers’ portion was subscribed 145.38 times, while the non-institutional investor category recorded 73.90 times subscription. The retail portion was subscribed 11.81 times.

The proceeds from the fresh issue are intended to support the company’s expansion, including the addition of new stores, along with general corporate purposes.

Lalithaa Jewellery Mart operates in the retail jewellery segment, selling gold, silver and diamond jewellery. The company opened its first store in Tamil Nadu in 1985 and has since expanded its retail presence across South India.

The listing gives Lalithaa Jewellery Mart a public-market platform as the organized jewellery retail sector continues to see companies access capital markets to fund expansion.