New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) India’s initial public offerings (IPO) have raised a record Rs 1.77 lakh crore ($19.6 billion) in 2025 so far, marginally higher than the 2024 tally, as companies rush to capture increasing investor demand.

With five more offerings scheduled to close on or before December 16, including ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co.’s $1.2‑billion deal, the total value of IPO proceeds is set to rise much higher than last year’s proceeds.

In 2024, Indian IPOs raised Rs 1.73 lakh crore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The surge reflects a maturing capital market driven by a swelling base of retail investors and steady institutional appetite, even as demand for equities in the secondary market softened.

Analysts said that firms are using buoyant demand to lock in funding before global conditions tighten, and India has eased the process for companies to list and initiated a run of big-ticket deals.

Foreign institutional investors remain active participants in IPOs despite selling a record number of Indian equities in the secondary market. FII enthusiasm in primary markets helped companies across sectors and market caps to raise capital at elevated valuations.

Almost half of the more than 300 firms listed so far this year are trading below their offer price when the scrips debuted.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Thursday, proposed key reforms to address long-standing challenges around locking in pre-IPO pledged shares and simplifying public issue disclosures.

SEBI has suggested enabling depositories to designate pledged shares as “non-transferable” for the lock-in period in response to directives from the issuer.

India’s financial markets are heading into 2026 with renewed confidence, with notable surges in recent months and a resilient macroeconomic environment. This sharp turnaround was fuelled by multiple domestic triggers, including the GST 2.0 rate rationalisation that accelerated consumption across discretionary categories, a surge in manufacturing activity reflected in a two-month high PMI of 58.4.

–IANS

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