What is IPO GMP (Grey Market Premium)?

Grey Market Premium (GMP) is the extra amount buyers are willing to pay for IPO shares in the unofficial "grey market" — before the shares actually list on NSE or BSE. If an IPO's issue price is ₹200 and its GMP is ₹60, the grey market expects the stock to list around ₹260, roughly a 30% listing gain.

How is GMP decided?

There is no exchange, no order book and no regulator behind GMP. It emerges from a network of grey-market dealers — concentrated historically in Gujarat — who quote buy and sell prices for IPO shares and applications. Deals are settled in cash, on trust, with no written contracts. The quotes spread through phone calls and dealer groups, and publishers track and report them daily. That is why different websites often show slightly different GMP values for the same IPO: each is sampling different dealers.

Kostak and Subject to Sauda

Alongside GMP you will often see two more grey-market terms:

Kostak rate — the price paid for an entire IPO application, regardless of whether it gets allotment. The seller pockets the Kostak amount; any listing gain (or loss) belongs to the buyer.

Subject to Sauda (S2S) — a deal that is valid only if the application receives allotment. Rates are higher than Kostak because the buyer only pays when shares are actually allotted.

Does GMP predict listing gains?

Sometimes — but not reliably. GMP reflects demand and sentiment at a point in time. It often tracks the subscription numbers: heavy oversubscription usually lifts GMP, weak subscription drags it down. But GMP can swing sharply in the final days, and listings regularly beat or miss the GMP-implied price. Treat GMP as a sentiment thermometer, not a forecast.

Is trading in the grey market legal or safe?

The grey market is unregulated. There is no investor protection, no formal contract and no recourse if a counterparty defaults. LiveGMP reports GMP purely as news and information — we do not trade in, facilitate, or recommend grey-market transactions.

Where can I see today's GMP?

Our live GMP table tracks the grey market premium of every active and upcoming Mainboard and SME IPO, refreshed automatically every hour, with price band, dates and estimated listing gains.