Spice Communications raised Rs 528 crore in an initial public offering as investors tapped a market where subscribers almost doubled last year, reports Bloomberg. Each of the 113.1 million new shares was priced at Rs 46, the top end of the range offered, Spice told investors in an e-mail today. The sale was oversubscribed more than 37 times, according to data from the Bombay Stock Exchange, where the stock will be listed. Spice, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, and larger Indian rivals such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications have attracted investors to the world’s fastest-growing market. Spice, which covers Karnataka and Punjab, plans to spend $140 million in the next two years to expand its network. “Spice should continue to enjoy some strong growth in the next two to three years,’’ said Jeffrey Tan, an analyst at OSK Research in Kuala Lumpur. “Beyond that, it needs to gain a pan-India operator licence or consolidate with other operators.’’ Tan rates Telekom Malaysia shares “neutral’’. Recent rumors of a merger between Spice Telecom and Idea Cellular died down amid speculation that the two companies were unable to agree on valuation terms. Wonder if the talks will renew post IPO.