India Leads Global IPO Market in 2024 Amidst Asia-Pacific Shifts

Dealmakers anticipate that the momentum behind new share sales in India, now the leading market globally for initial public offerings (IPOs), along with Australia’s resurgence in 2025, will offset the sluggish performance of Chinese deals in the Asia-Pacific region.

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For the first time, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai surpassed major U.S. exchanges in IPO fundraising, bolstered by India’s strong economic growth and increased activity from domestic investors after a wave of IPOs in 2024.

The value of IPOs in India surged by 149% over the past year, reaching $18.4 billion, according to LSEG data, which nearly doubled the region’s total equity capital market activity.

India’s exchange captured 16.8% of the global IPO market share, surpassing both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, the data indicated.

"Among emerging market portfolios, India stands out as the bright spot," said Peihao Huang, JPMorgan’s co-head of Asia-Pacific equity capital markets.

"We anticipate 2025 will outperform 2024 based on current pipeline visibility, though this will partially depend on factors such as U.S. Federal Reserve rates and the performance of other emerging markets, like a potential strong recovery in China," Huang added.

In addition to India’s growth, two major Australian deals—HMC Capital’s A$2 billion ($1.25 billion) Digico REIT listing and Guzman y Gomez’s A$335.1 million IPO—helped revive Australia’s IPO market, leading to a 294% year-on-year increase in volume in 2024.

Despite being Australia’s largest IPO in six years, Digico’s shares fell by as much as 20% within two days of trading, following a drop below the issue price on its first trading day last week.

"The lackluster performance of recent IPOs, apart from Guzman y Gomez, suggests that future deals will need to reassess pricing expectations to align with investor demand," said Ron Shamgar, head of Australian equities at TAMIM Asset Management.

Nonetheless, a scarcity of major IPOs in recent years and the delisting of several large companies from the ASX have driven investor appetite for new offerings, noted Georgina Johnson, Macquarie’s co-head of Asia-Pacific ECM.

"Successful large transactions that perform well post-listing can restore confidence among vendors and listed investors," Johnson said, highlighting that private equity firms may turn to IPOs given the depressed valuations of their assets in recent years.

CHINA’S CHALLENGES

The Asia-Pacific region experienced a 33% decline in IPO volume in 2024, with Chinese IPOs raising only $13.3 billion—an almost 74% drop from the previous year, according to LSEG data.

Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong regulators have urged major banks to expedite the listing processes for Chinese companies in Hong Kong, Reuters reported on December 9, citing sources familiar with the matter.

In Hong Kong, IPO fundraising fell slightly to $5.3 billion from $5.7 billion in 2023, based on LSEG data. However, including secondary listings, such as Midea’s $4 billion offering in September and SF Holding’s $750 million deal in November, total share sale volumes rose to $10.6 billion in 2024 from $5.9 billion the previous year.

Dealmakers remain optimistic that China’s economic stimulus measures will encourage greater investment in mainland equities in 2025. The Hang Seng Index has gained approximately 20% since the initial stimulus announcements in September.

"While uncertainties linger about the effectiveness of these policies, the reality is that China’s stimulus efforts aim to invigorate the economy and boost the market," said James Wang, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of Asia ex-Japan ECM.

"Earlier, there were fears that China’s situation could worsen. Now, the stimulus measures and subsequent market rally have brought renewed confidence to reevaluate valuations."