Homegrown Tech Firms Worth Up To $10 billion Likely To List Soon In India

Headlines on the swelling valuations for India's homegrown tech firms have been increasing in number

The stock markets are set for a wave of unicorn listings, according to technology venture capitalist and former Infosys official Mohandas Pai.

Mr Pai, who is also chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India committees on primary markets and financial technology, said 10 to 15 internet and tech companies are looking to list in India over the next three years. These companies are likely to be valued at $300 million to $10 billion, he said in an interview.

One of the companies is Byju, creator of an education app, in which Mr Pai's Aarin Capital Partners owns a stake. The other companies that he expects to list in the markets in the next few years include food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato, as well as PhonePe and Myntra, which are both units of Walmart Inc.-controlled Flipkart.

"There is appetite for IPOs," from companies as well as investors, the former Infosys chief financial officer said. "The market is hungry for fast growth IT stocks."

Byju, Swiggy, Zomato, PhonePe, Myntra did not immediately respond to Bloomberg queries on their plans.

Headlines on the swelling valuations for India's homegrown tech firms have been increasing in number over the past couple of years:

Date	News
Oct. 2019	Paytm Nears SoftBank, Ant Fundraising at a $16 Billion Valuation
Jul. 2019	25-Year-Old Founder Spends $2 Billion to Triple Stake in Oyo
Dec. 2018	India's Byju's Is Said Valued at $3.6 Billion After New Funding
Oct. 2018	Naspers Is Said to Plan Investment in $2 Billion Swiggy
Oct. 2018	India Has Hit Record Number of $1 Billion Startups This Year
May 2018	Walmart's $16 Billion India Investment Creates Two Billionaires
Oct. 2017	India's Ola Is Said to Get $2 Billion From SoftBank, Tencent

Mr Pai pointed toward interest from both global and local investors that drove the country's equity indexes to record highs last month. The strong performance of internet-related stocks including Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Info Edge India this year has also helped, he said. The IRCTC stock gained about 170 per cent since its listing in October.

Foreign investors have pumped about $13 billion into Indian stocks this year, set for their biggest annual inflow since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Domestic investment in stocks has also increased in recent years as investors have embraced mutual funds amid a lack of confidence in other assets.

Mr Pai said that liquidity and valuations shouldn't be concerns for companies seeking to list, as the market is "flush with money" and India investors have shown a willingness to pay up for growth stocks.