QIB vs NII (HNI) vs Retail: IPO Investor Categories

Every Indian IPO divides the shares on offer into investor categories, each with its own reserved portion, bidding rules and allotment method. Knowing which category you fall into explains why the subscription numbers are reported the way they are and how your chances of allotment are decided.

The main categories

The ₹2 lakh boundary is measured at the price you bid. Retail investors who bid at the cut-off price are counted at the upper end of the band.

How much each category gets

The split depends on which eligibility route the company used under SEBI's ICDR Regulations:

• Companies with a profitability track record (Regulation 6(1)): QIBs not more than 50%, NIIs not less than 15%, retail not less than 35%.
• Companies that do not meet the track-record test (Regulation 6(2)), which must use book building: QIBs at least 75%, NIIs not more than 15%, retail not more than 10%.

The NII portion is itself split: one-third for sNII applications and two-thirds for bNII applications. The exact percentages for any issue are in the Offer Structure section of its RHP. A small retail quota — as in many loss-making technology IPOs — means fewer retail applicants can be allotted.

Anchor investors

Up to 60% of the QIB portion can be allotted to anchor investors — QIBs applying for at least ₹10 crore — on the working day before the issue opens. Part of the anchor portion is reserved for domestic institutions such as mutual funds. Anchor shares are locked in: half for 30 days and the rest for 90 days after allotment.

Anchor allocations are announced before the public issue opens, so you can see which institutions took part. The subscription figures reported for “QIB” during bidding usually exclude the anchor portion.

Bidding rules differ by category

• Cut-off price: retail investors (and eligible employees and shareholders in their reserved portions) may bid at “cut-off”, agreeing to pay whatever final price is set. QIBs and NIIs must bid at a specific price.
• Withdrawing bids: retail investors can modify or cancel bids until the issue closes. QIBs and NIIs cannot withdraw or lower their bids.
• UPI limit: individual investors can use UPI for applications up to ₹5 lakh, which covers retail and many sNII applications; larger bids go through ASBA net banking. See applying with UPI or ASBA.

How allotment differs

• Retail: if oversubscribed, the aim is to give the minimum bid lot to as many retail applicants as possible, chosen by lottery. Applying for more lots does not improve your chance of getting the first lot.
• sNII and bNII: each successful applicant is allotted at least the minimum NII application size, subject to availability, chosen by lottery when oversubscribed; any remaining shares are allocated proportionately.
• QIB: allotted proportionately, with a small portion reserved for mutual funds.

More detail is in How IPO allotment works.

Reading category subscription figures

When an IPO page shows “QIB 45×, NII 30×, Retail 8×”, each figure is demand in that category divided by the shares reserved for it. Because the reserved portions differ, the overall multiple is a weighted figure and always lies between the lowest and highest category values. The same retail multiple can mean very different odds in two issues — one with a 35% retail quota and one with 10%. See how subscription works.