Economic Survey 2024-25 has underlined that the country's share in global initial public offering (IPO) listings moved up to 30 per cent in 2024 from 17 per cent in 2023, making it the leading contributor of primary resource mobilisation globally.
"Capital markets are central to India's growth story, catalysing capital formation for the real economy, enhancing the financialisation of domestic savings, and enabling wealth creation. As of December 2024, the Indian stock market has achieved new highs, with intermittent corrections, in the midst of geopolitical uncertainties, currency depreciation and domestic market volatility challenges," the survey, released just a day before the Union Budget 2025 presentation, noted.
"Investor participation has been a contributor, with number of investors growing from 4.9 crore in FY20 to 13.2 crore as of December 31, 2024. This growth, combined with active listing activity and recent measures by the regulator, viz. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), to temper excesses, is expected to foster sustainable market expansion," it also said.
"The primary markets continued to witness heightened listing activities and investor enthusiasm in FY25, notwithstanding the market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties. As per the E&Y Global IPO trends, Indian stock exchanges provide conducive market conditions for foreign conglomerates to list their local subsidiaries, thereby offering a good opportunity for unlocking value," the survey underlined.
It said the total resource mobilisation from primary markets (equity and debt) stands at Rs 11.1 lakh crore from April to December 2024, which is 5 per cent more than the amount mobilised during the entire FY24.
"This also amounts to 25.6 per cent of gross fixed capital formation of private and public corporations during FY24. The number of IPOs increased by 32.1 per cent to 259 during April to December 2024 from 196 in the corresponding period of the previous year, while the amount raised almost tripled from ₹53,023 crore to ₹1,53,987 crore in the same period," the yearly financial review stated.
The survey mentioned that the mainboard platform witnessed a significant increase in issue size as the average IPO deal size rose to Rs 2,124 crore, up from Rs 814 crore in the entire FY24. "In the case of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) IPOs, the average deal size increased to Rs 39 crore from Rs 31 crore during the same period," it added.
Reflecting the buoyant market conditions, the eco survey said qualified institutional players (QIPs) emerged as the preferred equity fundraising mechanism for the corporates during FY25, with an 11.4 per cent share in total capital raised.