Reflecting events in the US and Europe, several Indian film and TV companies have postponed their planned IPOs, in this case because of the decline in value of media companies on the Mumbai stock exchange.

Twenty Indian film and TV companies have applied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) - the regulatory body for public issues - to float their companies, but all 20 are now holding back to assess the domino effect of the Nasdaq crash three weeks ago.

Companies including Nimbus Communications and Devgan Entertainment & Software planned to go public to increase transparency in their operations and raise funds to invest in new ventures and technology. Devgan, backed by leading star couple Ajay Devgan and his wife Kajol, had planned to mop up $10-15m to finance an Internet portal for the entertainment industry and open a state-of-the-art digital studio in Mumbai.

A raft of US and European media companies including UK video-on-demand pioneer Yes TV recently postponed flotation plans after New York's high-tech stock exchange, the Nasdaq, plunged 9.7% on April 14.