India’s Busy IPO Queue For Second Half Goes Beyond Hyundai Unit

A Hyundai Motor Co. dealership in New Delhi.

(Bloomberg) --

The $2.5 billion initial public offering of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Indian unit is set to be among the country's biggest on record, leading a strong lineup of IPOs in the South Asian nation for the second half of the year.

At least 14 other companies are working on offerings that, alongside the jumbo Hyundai deal, could potentially raise a combined $11 billion, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The deals, reported by Bloomberg or other media since April, are at different stages.

The strong lineup would help consolidate the South Asian country as one of the busiest venues globally for IPOs this year. Proceeds raised by new share sales in Indian exchanges since January jumped to about $4.4 billion, more than double that from the same period last year.

“India is a unique growth opportunity for investors and will continue to benefit from structural tailwinds,” said Edward Byun, the co-head of Asia ex-Japan ECM at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The increase in domestic assets under management will continue to support Indian equities, he said.

In addition to the Hyundai Motor's unit IPO in India, other large offerings in the second half are likely to include a $1.25 billion plan of SoftBank-backed food delivery firm Swiggy. Supermarket chain Vishal Mega Mart could raise up to $1 billion in the fourth quarter.

While the start of the year was dominated by tiny listings that drew scrutiny by regulators, larger deals should lure more foreign investors seeking big, liquid names. Many of them increased holdings of Indian shares as they cut China-related names, amid economic and geopolitical woes.

“The dynamic will be interesting when China comes back but investors will want to be balanced across the region,” Goldman Sachs' Byun said.

--With assistance from Ashutosh Joshi.

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