A BLOCKBUSTER year for initial public offerings in India catapulted seven entrepreneurs into the US dollar billionaires league, many of them early movers in the country’s booming renewable energy sector.
Entrepreneurs’ Success Stories
Chiranjeev Singh Saluja of Premier Energies is among those who successfully rode the wave. "My father was in the business of supplying hand pumps to rural villages," the 51-year-old said in an interview. "He saw that access to electricity was sparse in those areas, so he started Premier Solar in 1995," Saluja said.
Three decades on, the company rechristened Premier Energies is the country’s second-largest integrated solar module and solar cell manufacturer behind the Adani Group. Investors bullish on the government’s investments in solar energy have bid up Premier shares nearly threefold since their debut in September, valuing it at roughly $7 billion.
Renewable Energy Sector
Saluja is one of the four entrepreneurs in the renewable energy space whose personal fortunes have soared after their companies listed on the stock exchanges last year. The others are Hitech C Doshi of the Waaree Group, which also makes solar modules, Bhavish Aggarwal of electric vehicle maker Ola Electric Mobility, and Manoj K Upadhyaya of solar energy generator Acme Solar Holdings.
Prospects for Solar Players
Prospects for solar players appear bright as India aims to add another 100 GW of capacity in the next four years, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan. But this could be a double-edged sword, said Saluja. "There is definitely going to be consolidation in the sector, so only those who scale up will survive," Saluja said.
India’s Equity Market
A similar trend could play out in India’s equity market, which was on a roll in 2024, with a record 1.66 trillion rupees (S$26.5 billion) raised through IPOs compared to 650 billion rupees last year. This was fueled by a 27% rise in the number of unique investors on the main bourse to 109 million.
IPO Trend
Around 85 companies aim to list on the stock exchanges in 2025, collectively targeting 1.53 trillion rupees, according to data from Prime Database. At the same time, issuers will have to brace for headwinds from a slowing economy, weak corporate profits, volatile rupee, tepid consumer spending, and incoming US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Market Experts’ Views
Kunal Rambhia, fund manager and head of trading strategies at The Streets, a Mumbai-based long-short fund, expects rising global tensions and the threat of tariffs to trigger a deep correction in the market this year. "The IPO trend will continue for the first half of 2025, but could slow down in the second. Startups and tech-companies will find it harder to list, particularly in the second half because there could be a liquidity crunch," he said.
Others are more sanguine, considering that domestic inflows into equities have been strong for a while now. "The Indian IPO market is no longer dependent on foreign investors as domestic investors and domestic institutions have enough money," said Himanshu Kohli, co-founder of Client Associates, a multi-family office and private wealth adviser managing over $6 billion in assets.
Conclusion
The Indian IPO market is expected to continue its upward trend in 2025, with a record number of companies lining up for listing. The trend is expected to be dominated by financial services companies, electronic manufacturers, power generation firms, and software companies. However, the market may face headwinds from a slowing economy, weak corporate profits, and volatile rupee.
FAQs
Q: What are the prospects for solar players in India?
A: Prospects for solar players appear bright as India aims to add another 100 GW of capacity in the next four years.
Q: What is the trend in the Indian IPO market?
A: The trend is expected to continue for the first half of 2025, but could slow down in the second half.
Q: What are the challenges facing IPO-bound companies?
A: Issuers will have to brace for headwinds from a slowing economy, weak corporate profits, volatile rupee, tepid consumer spending, and incoming US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Q: What is the expected listing trend in 2025?
A: Around 85 companies aim to list on the stock exchanges in 2025, collectively targeting 1.53 trillion rupees.
Q: Who are the entrepreneurs in the renewable energy space whose personal fortunes have soared after their companies listed on the stock exchanges last year?
A: Chiranjeev Singh Saluja of Premier Energies, Hitech C Doshi of the Waaree Group, Bhavish Aggarwal of electric vehicle maker Ola Electric Mobility, and Manoj K Upadhyaya of solar energy generator Acme Solar Holdings.
