Indian companies don't come up for sale that often

The planned $1.2bn (�660m) sale of software firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has picked up pace after getting off to a slow start on Thursday.

On the second day of five, applications were received for 1.6 times the 55.45 million shares on offer.

TCS is being spun out from the Tata group, one of India's biggest private business empires with interests which range from tea to trucks.

More to come

The offer is scheduled to close on 5 August and shares have been priced at between 775 rupees and 900 rupees each.

"Most of the bids have been between 800 to 850 rupees," an unidentified Tata official said.

Tata is benefiting from a cheap, highly skilled workforce

"We expect the price of the bids to go up because there are five more days left before the issue closes."

Even if all the shares sold at the bottom of the pricing band, TCS would become one of India's most valuable companies with market capitalisation of almost $10bn.

Interest in the TCS sale has been intense, with many foreign buyers, because serious IPOs are few and far between in India.

Many investors are put off by the slow pace of privatisation, and by perceptions that trading can be dangerously volatile.

Bargaining tool

Tata's management decided to float TCS only after much deliberation; usually, the firm prefers to hold its assets closely.

TCS's big rivals - companies such as Wipro and Infosys - are already stock-market-listed, a factor that analysts see as crucial for their performance.

Hi-tech firms commonly reward staff through shares or stock options, something possible only if TCS is individually quoted.