India’s IPO party looks towards 2025

Welcome to the India Business Information Session. My name is Veena Venugopal. We’re pleased to bring you news and insights from the world’s fastest-growing large economies every Tuesday and Friday. Let me tell you a little about myself. I started my career covering European mergers and acquisitions for IT companies before shifting gears and moving into the world of journalism. In the two decades since, I’ve covered everything from the Ambani brothers’ feud to Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, and I’ve written three nonfiction books.

As we all know, news in India is often noisy and distracting, making it difficult to keep up with everything. I use my years of experience to sift through the headlines and dig deep into the stories that really matter to ensure you stay ahead of the curve. We also welcome your feedback, so please email us at indiabrief@ft.com or click Reply.

Let’s move on to today’s topic. The government announced yesterday that Shaktikanta Das, who local media had predicted would remain as Reserve Bank of India governor, would be replaced this week. This will be discussed later. We will also be keeping an eye on the protesting farmers who have temporarily suspended their ‘Delhi Chalo’ (Let’s go to Delhi) march and are deciding their next course of action. Plus, will luster undermine CFA certification? But first, five companies are set to go public this week, including tomorrow’s fintech MobiKwik and Friday’s Blackstone-backed International Gemological Institute. We look at the surge in initial public offerings in India.

market rush

IPO fever has been hitting India all year round. This year, 298 companies went public, raising a total of 1.4 trillion rupees ($16.6 billion), a 140% increase from last year, according to S&P Global. Riding on this euphoria, predictions for an IPO in 2025 are off. LG, the Indian arm of the consumer electronics group, is planning a major expansion in 2025, following in the footsteps of Hyundai, another South Korean giant, which listed its Indian subsidiary this year. Flipkart, which is majority owned by Walmart, also plans to enter the primary market next year, according to news reports. It seems like each new interview with an investment banker yields higher numbers, both in volume and value of deals.

But I’m skeptical. Bold optimism and animal spirit are one thing, but reality is something else entirely. Global markets are entering the new year with a lot of uncertainty. The security situation in the Middle East is unstable, government functions are collapsing like a nine-pin in Europe, and given everything that has been announced so far, Donald Trump’s inauguration as president should have everyone nervous. It’s probably sharp. Volatile markets are not the best ship for an IPO, as we have seen during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Even in the buoyant market we’ve witnessed this year, IPOs haven’t had all that smooth sailing. Hyundai Motor, which was the biggest selling stock, ended the first day of trading down 5.73%, but its stock price is still trading below its listed price. MobiKwik, which goes public tomorrow, has had to reduce its issue size three times since first starting plans for an IPO in 2021. The debacle of Paytm going public is still fresh in everyone’s minds, but unlike in the pre-COVID-19 era, investors are investing more quickly. Punishing companies that think too highly of themselves.

While it’s good for investment bankers to be optimistic about the IPO market, I’d take their 2025 predictions with a grain of salt. If the market holds up, we could see a few large listings and many smaller listings. However, liquidity and macroeconomic concerns will dampen any excitement. Companies and their bankers need timing and valuations to be completely accurate. You can’t expect a guaranteed blockbuster these days, even in Bollywood, much less in the capital markets.

Do you think 2025 will be a record year for IPOs? Contact us at indiabrief@ft.com.

go figures

It’s December, which means it’s Spotify Wrapped season. The music streaming platform has released some surprising statistics about what users around the world love.

Lamb of Wall Street?

Earning the Chartered Financial Analyst designation once made it easier to join top investment firms, attracting many candidates seeking employment in the United States and Europe. However, this qualification is currently having difficulty finding candidates. There were 163,000 test registrations last year, down 40% from the peak of 270,456 in 2019. In particular, the number of Chinese students taking the exam decreased as China’s economic downturn affected demand.

So should Indian finance aspirants be eager to take the exam? CFA Institute predicts that India will be the fastest growing market for investment professionals, growing by 33% over the next 10 years. . But don’t bring out your party hat just yet. India’s education system, which tends to produce technically competent but less well-rounded talent, is having a negative impact here as well. The report warns that many Indian candidates who complete all levels of the CFA exam lack soft skills and therefore do not meet industry requirements. Another threat comes from technology. As machine learning and artificial intelligence advance, many quantitative aspects of financial analysis can now be performed without human expertise. CFA Institute is working hard to maintain the status quo in light of these structural changes and is not optimistic about future “hypergrowth.” It contains some advice. If you are young and starting out, try to become more tech-savvy, and if you are a middle manager, try to become a better communicator and leader. If you are a successful top analyst, you don’t need their advice. you understand everything.

Other news you need to know

Analysts say the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold last month may have cost the governor his job. Shaktikanta Das recently told the FT that the central bank was focusing on inflation “correctly”. However, his successor, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, may chart a new course.

Assad is gone. Introducing the story of how a 50-year-old dynasty collapsed amidst cheers and an analysis of Syria’s future by Middle East Editor-in-Chief Andrew England.

The internationalization of the labor market is forcing some companies to raise wages.

What are President Trump’s top five priorities for his first 100 days?

Omnicom has agreed to buy Interpublic in a $13 billion all-stock deal, with the proceeds creating the world’s largest advertising agency and reshaping the industry.

A trade war with the next US president could trigger significant interest rate cuts in Europe.

South Korea’s political crisis, sparked by a “desperate” president’s failure to impose martial law, has roots in a traumatic past, as a recent Big Read explores.

my mantra

Don’t confuse activity with productive use of time. Addiction to social media is crazy. Whether it’s Instagram or Twitter, algorithms confuse us about what’s urgent and important. Inevitably, urgency trumps importance.

— Uday Kotak, Founder and Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Every week, we invite India’s top business leaders to share their beliefs about work and life. Want to know what your boss thinks? Reply to indiabrief@ft.com with your recommendation.

simple question

Last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he prefers meetings to be messy, wandering, and working overtime. What do you think? (Show me my hand. Meetings that deviate from the topic make me angry.)

Please contact us at indiabrief@ft.com.

Thank you for reading. India Business Briefing is edited by Tee Zhuo. Send your feedback, suggestions (and gossip) to indiabrief@ft.com.