MUMBAI: Government-owned NHPC made a muted debut on the bourses Tuesday dousing investor hopes of a big-bang listing.

The company listed at Rs 38 or 5 per cent against its IPO price of Rs 36. During intra-day trade, the scrip surged over 10 per cent to a high of Rs 39.75 on the BSE.

However, post noon, the stock lost steam and finally settled at Rs 36.70, merely 0.7 points or 1.94 per cent over its issue price.

The company had gone public with 168 crore shares of face value Rs 10 each and managed to raise above Rs 6,000 crore for its hydro power projects.

“It is a long term investment call and the stock is likely to take support at Rs 40 levels,” said Anita Gandhi, head institutional sales, Arihant Capital Market.

NHPC is the largest hydroelectric generator in the country with 13 stations operating and an installed capacity of 5,175MW. It accounts for 14 per cent of the country’s hydro capacity. The company plans to nearly double its standalone capacity to 9,797MW by FY16.

It is in the process of adding 4,622MW of fresh capacity, through 11 projects. In addition, it is awaiting government sanction for five projects with an anticipated capacity of 4,565MW and 2,166MW through joint ventures

The proceeds will be used to part finance the construction and development costs of certain of projects, namely, Subansiri Lower, Uri – II, Chamera - III, Parbati – III, Nimoo Bazgo, Chutak, and Teesta Low Dam - IV.