India, Dec. 12 -- The $1.2-billion ICICI Prudential AMC IPO has opened for subscription, paving the way for a listing that can make it the country's second-most valuable mutual fund. The grey market premium, however, shows otherwise.

On offer in the ICICI Prudential AMC IPO are up to 4.90 crore equity shares in a price band of Rs.2,061-2,165 apiece, implying a valuation of as much as Rs.1.07 lakh crore. Its debut on 19 December will mark India's fourth-biggest listing this year, following those of Tata Capital ( Rs.15,000 crore), HDB Financial Services Ltd. ( Rs.12,500 crore) and LG Electronics India Ltd. ( Rs.11,600 crore).

To be sure, the ICICI Prudential AMC IPO is a pure offer-for-sale, meaning all proceeds will go to the selling sh...