Lofty valuations are drawing companies to initial public offerings as equities in the country trade at a premium to most markets.
Lofty valuations are drawing companies to initial public offerings as equities in the country trade at a premium to most markets, said Claire Suddens-Spiers, vice chair of global markets solutions at Rothschild.
“Listing locally signals long-term commitment, enhances partnerships and boosts visibility, apart from delivering superior valuations,” Suddens-Spiers said in an interview in Mumbai while on a visit.
IPOs have already fetched roughly $16 billion in India this year, with a big chunk coming from local units of global firms, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
LG Electronics India Ltd soared 48 per cent in its Mumbai trading debut last month after investors flocked to its $1.3 billion IPO, building on the momentum from the unit of another South Korean company, Hyundai Motor Co, which raised $3.3 billion last year.
Retail investors
Greater domestic capital flows from retail investors have been a game changer, according to the Rothschild investment banker.
“A few years ago, raising $1 billion to $2 billion through an IPO required enormous deliberation on whether the market had the capacity,” she said. “Today, India supports both mid-sized offerings and multibillion-dollar transactions with confidence.”
Local institutions such as asset managers and family offices are playing a more important role on stock offerings, often acting as anchor buyers setting pricing benchmarks, Suddens-Spiers said, adding that foreign institutional investors increasingly act as price takers.
Upcoming listings include India’s second-largest asset manager, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co, which has begun investor roadshows ahead of its planned IPO, Bloomberg News has reported. Apollo Global Management Inc is considering listing auto-parts supplier Tenneco Inc’s India business.
India’s listing frenzy might be vulnerable to global shocks, geopolitics and sentiment swings, the banker said.
“Internally, companies must guard against under-preparation, weak disclosure and unrealistic valuation expectations,” she said. “Many IPOs fail because issuers chase inflated numbers without ensuring that their businesses are mature and predictable enough for public markets.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Published on November 3, 2025
