Outlook 2025: IPO fundraising hits record ₹1.59 lakh cr in 2024; set to cross ₹2 lakh cr next year

The Indian primary market has shattered various records this year, be it in terms of issue size, subscription, or fundraising amount, as investors continued to bet on India’s growth story, favourable market conditions, and strong listing gains. As many as 91 main board initial public offerings (IPOs) raised a total of ₹1,59,676 crore in 2024, while the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment saw record 240 companies collectively garnering ₹8,753 crore by listing of their shares on the domestic bourses.

The fundraising by main board companies this year is 223% higher than ₹49,434 crore raised by 57 companies in 2023, and 169% higher than the ₹59,302 crore mobilised by 40 IPOs in 2022.

What is even more astonishing is that the pipeline remains even stronger, with IPO fundraising expected to cross ₹2 lakh crore in 2025. As many as 34 companies have received SEBI approvals to raise ₹41,462 crore, while 55 firms await clearance for ₹98,672 crore. The exchange data showed that 143 IPO documents were filed with SEBI in 2024, compared to 84 in 2023 and 89 in 2022.

“We now project that equity raised through IPOs will cross ₹2 lakh crore in the year 2025. This milestone is a testament to the resilience of India’s capital markets, the confidence of investors, and the critical role IPOs play in fueling economic growth,” says Mahavir Lunawat, Managing Director of Pantomath Capital, a mid-market investment bank.

“Multinational corporations have demonstrated the strategic advantages of listing in India. Factors such as reduced capital costs, wide consumer market, robust regulatory regime, encourage global players to consider Indian markets for their equity offerings. Increasing participation of multinational corporations on Indian exchanges adds a new dimension to Indian capital market,” add Lunawat.

The global IPO market recorded 1,215 deals raising $121.2 billion, slightly below 2023 levels, with India emerging as the leader in terms of volume, hosting twice as many IPOs as the U.S. and 2.5 times more than Europe.

According to Lunawat, favorable regulatory reforms and investor confidence fueled market momentum, even during downturns.

The equity benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty rallied around 9% this year, despite sharp corrections in recent months amid inflation concerns coupled with escalated geo-political tensions. Outperforming the benchmarks, the BSE IPO index surged over 31% year-to-date (YTD).

Among the key highlights of this year’s IPO was the ₹27,859 crore issue of Hyundai Motor India, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor, which was the largest-ever in India. Other notable IPOs included Swiggy’s ₹11,327 crore issue, followed by ₹10,000 crore fundraising by state-owned NTPC Green Energy. The public issue of the renewable energy arm of NTPC was the complete issue of fresh equity shares, which is a new record in India’s IPO history.

In terms of subscription, Vibhor Steel Tubes topped the chart with record 320 times bidding for its ₹72.17 crore IPO. It was followed by Manba Finance and KRN Heat Exchanger, which garnered 224 times and 213 times, respectively, bidding for its issue.

The top performers in terms of listing gains were Jyoti CNC Automation (320%), KRN Heat Exchanger & Refrigeration (278%), Premier Energies (184%), Platinum Industries (156%), and Bharti Hexacom (144%).

Sector wise, new age technology companies (NATCs) made a comeback after two quiet years with 9 IPOs, including Swiggy, Mobikwik, Ola Electric, Awfis, GoDigit Insurance, TBO Tek, FirstCry, Ixigo and Unicommerce, raising ₹27,993 crore. This year's NATCs fundraising was the highest since 2021, when seven big new age companies, including Paytm, Zomato and Nykaa, garnered ₹42,826 crore through the primary market.

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