India's IPO tally hit a six-year high in 2023

In total, 243 companies were listed on Indian bourses in the year ended December 31, 2023, the highest annual tally in at least six years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The aggregate transaction value of the IPOs in 2023, however, fell more than 9% to $7.10 billion, dragged down by the absence of big-ticket listings such as Life Insurance Corp. of India, through which the Indian government raised more than 205 billion Indian rupees in 2022 alone, the data said.

IPO activity in India is set to remain strong this year after the number of listings rose more than 65% in 2023.

The expected boom comes as companies look to take advantage of the country's robust economic growth, young population and the government's increased focus on digitisation.

India stood out as one of the few bright spots for IPOs in 2023 as activity slowed in other major markets across the globe. The number of IPOs globally fell 15.8% to 1,429 in 2023, and the aggregate transaction value was down a sharp 33.6%, the report said.

India took the third spot among global markets in terms of IPO proceeds in 2023, reflecting a shift in the sources of capital and maturing local markets, according to a PwC report released in January. The professional services firm said India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) surpassed Hong Kong in terms of market capitalisation in November 2023, reaching nearly $4 trillion.

S&P Global Ratings anticipates solid consumer and investment dynamics will propel India's real GDP growth to 6.4% in fiscal 2024, 6.4% in fiscal 2025 and 6.9% in fiscal 2026. The NIFTY 50, which represents the weighted average of 50 of the largest Indian companies listed on the National Stock Exchange, rose 19.4% from January 2, 2023, through December 29, 2023.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)