Warning signs in tiny IPOs

For close stock market observers, the tremendous boom in the IPOs of smaller companies (or SMEs, as they are called) has been raging for some time. This year, a humongous Rs 5,900 crore of fresh money has flown into fresh issues from companies in this size band. However, the general investing public has noticed this trend only in the last couple of weeks. As befits the times we live in, this burst of attention came because of the story of an IPO going viral and that of a company that's like the made-for-memes parody of an IPO. A tiny outfit with two motorcycle showrooms on rented premises and eight employees tries out an Rs 11 crore IPO and gets some Rs 4,000 crore of investor interest. Suggested read: Small is (not really) beautiful Like every SME IPO excess, people dug up the classic video from the great social satirist and comedian, the late Jaspal Bhatti. If you have not seen this old video, search YouTube for 'PP Waterballs'. T