📰IPOs Set for Three-Decade High | Daily India Briefing

India asks U.S. to allow Iran oil. Modi hails strong ties with Russia despite Trump pressure. India heads for Busiest month for IPOs in nearly three decades.

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Macro

• India wants the US to lift Iran sanctions in order to reduce Russian energy imports. The reiteration came from an Indian envoy in DC this week where representatives emphasized that cutting India off from Russia, Venezuela, and Iran would lead to a global spike in refined products.

Equities

• Citi moves 1,000 tech jobs to India after cutting their Chinese workforce as part of a global overhaul. The bank has done so over the last few months with insiders predicting even more jobs opening in India after the $100,000 H1B fees in the US. The Indian tech hubs are known as Global Capability Centers, now becoming a $64 billion (₹5.5 trillion) market. 

• LG Electronics will finally undergo its IPO around October 6, raising $1.3 billion (₹115 billion) and valuing the company at $9 billion (₹776 billion). The valuation is far lower than what was previously hoped for due to the struggling Indian equity market. This still marks only the third IPO to raise over a billion dollars this year. Separately, the company has announced it will pledge $600 million (₹51.6 billion) over four years to develop a factory in Andhra Pradesh. 

• India is heading for its busiest IPO month in nearly three decades with 25 lined up. 15 companies have IPO’d in September with another 10 expected in the next 5 days; companies try to cram before October to avoid extra regulatory filings related to earnings. The first 15 raised $1 billion (₹86 billion) collectively while the remaining 10 expect to raise $500 million (₹43 billion). 

• Oyo is tapping banks for its $800 million (₹68.8 billion) IPO such as Goldman and Citi. Oyo operates hotels across 35 countries serving 100 million customers. The IPO would value the company at $7.5 billion (₹645 billion) but deliberations are ongoing and details could change. 

• India's momentum stocks start to see weakness.The Nifty500 Momentum 50 index tracks the 50 most in-demand equities and is facing its worst run against the benchmark. Weak earnings growth and geopolitical tension have resulted in constant churn and low returns.

Alts

• CapitaLand India Trust is selling two office parks for $124 million (₹11 billion) to repay debt. The two parks were sold to Viko Group, an Indian family office, first seen in a disclosure this week. This is CapitaLand’s first divestment since opening in 2007 in Singapore. 

• New private universities backed by billionaires offer hope as H1B fees cause college dreams to fade. These new colleges include new schools and also foreign schools setting up local campuses. A key goal for these new universities is to ramp up employability, with many curriculums focusing on internship and co-ops throughout the educational experience. 

• India may continue buying French Rafales as US trade talks stall.India was supposed to power its own fighter jets with GE engines but is turning to France as joint manufacturing of Indian jets has not been resolved yet. India still faces a shortage of fighter jets.

Policy

• Two years after Canada accused India of assassinating a Sikh separatist, Canada arrests his successor on firearm charges. India and Canada had frosty relations, particularly under fmr. PM Trudeau due to accusations of the assassination of separatist leader Nijjar, but new PM Carney has been more pragmatic with India. The arrest is being touted as a local matter, though India currently calls for the extradition of another two dozen separatists from Canada.

• Modi continues to hail strong ties with Putin at a trade show amid US pressure. He highlighted the strong defense manufacturing ties by referring to a JV producing Kalashnikov assault rifles for the Indian army. 

• Trump to meet Pakistan PM Sharif at the White House for the first time.Sharif is already in the US for the UN General Assembly but the meeting signifies stronger ties with the US. Relations have sunk since the US ended aid to the country in 2018 and ties further worsened under Biden. However, there seems to be an uptick ever since Pakistani leadership praised Trump for helping end the India-Pakistan conflict.

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1. India Asks U.S. to Allow Iran Oil

India has told Washington that any significant cut to its purchases of Russian crude would require U.S. approval to buy oil from sanctioned suppliers such as Iran and Venezuela, according to people familiar with ongoing trade talks.

A delegation in the U.S. this week pressed the case in meetings with American officials, stressing that cutting India off from all three producers would risk driving up global crude prices. The appeal comes as the Trump administration has hit New Delhi with steep tariffs in retaliation for continued Russian oil imports.

Almost 90 percent of India’s oil demand is met by imports, and refiners have leaned heavily on discounted Russian barrels to contain costs, paying an average of $68.90 a barrel in July compared with $77.50 for Saudi oil and $74.20 for U.S. supplies. Indian officials argue that access to Iranian and Venezuelan barrels—also offered at discounts—would stabilize their import bill while easing dependence on Moscow.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said this week that India intends to step up U.S. energy purchases, framing American crude and LNG as central to the country’s long-term energy security. But refiners warn that without broader sourcing options, India may struggle to balance geopolitical demands with the realities of supply and cost.

India stopped importing Iranian oil in 2019 under U.S. pressure, and Reliance Industries, the country’s largest private refiner, halted Venezuelan crude purchases this year as sanctions tightened.

2. Modi Hails Strong Ties with Russia Despite Trump Pressure

Modi reaffirmed India’s deep partnership with Russia on Thursday, pushing back against mounting U.S. pressure to scale down ties with Moscow.

Speaking at an international trade show in Uttar Pradesh, where Russia was the partner country, Modi emphasized seven decades of cooperation spanning defense, space, and nuclear energy. He cited the joint Indo-Russian venture producing Kalashnikov rifles as an example of the countries’ robust defense manufacturing linkages.

“With Russia as a partner, we are strengthening a time-tested partnership,” Modi said, underscoring New Delhi’s intent to continue energy and defense collaboration.

The remarks come as Trump intensifies efforts to curb India’s reliance on Russian oil and arms. Trump recently imposed sweeping 50 percent tariffs on Indian exports, explicitly targeting New Delhi’s oil purchases from Moscow. Although Trump and Modi have spoken in recent weeks, tensions remain high amid both trade frictions and U.S. immigration restrictions.

Indian officials have told Washington that any sharp reduction in Russian crude imports would require permission to source from sanctioned suppliers such as Iran and Venezuela. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has also signaled India’s interest in scaling up U.S. oil and gas purchases, a move that could help reduce the bilateral trade gap.

Modi used the occasion to urge businesses and citizens to prioritize domestic production, saying: “In this changing world, the more a country is dependent on others, the more their growth will be compromised. India is no longer willing to be dependent on other countries.”

3. India Heads for Busiest Month for IPOs in Nearly Three Decades

India is poised for its busiest month of initial public offerings in nearly thirty years, with 25 companies expected to list on the main board of the National Stock Exchange this September. The last time IPO volumes were this high was January 1997, when 28 firms came to market.

So far this month, 15 companies have already raised close to $1 billion (₹88 billion), while another 10 are expected to collectively add about $500 million (₹44 billion), the NSE said. The surge reflects a mix of structural and seasonal drivers. Typically, firms rush to list before October to avoid updating financial statements in draft prospectuses. But this year, unusually strong market conditions have encouraged an outsized pipeline.

Dharmesh Mehta, chief executive officer of DAM Capital, pointed to robust business prospects, attractive valuations, and abundant domestic liquidity as key factors. “The confluence of all these tailwinds has created a record number of last-minute IPOs,” he said.

Foreign investor appetite is also playing a role. While overseas funds have been net sellers in India’s secondary markets this year, pulling out ~$20 billion (₹1.8 trillion), they have injected nearly $4.8 billion (₹429 billion) into IPOs and placements, data from the National Securities Depository show.

The rush is unlikely to end with September. About 75 more firms, including Tata Capital and LG Electronics India, already have regulatory approval and are waiting for the right window to launch.

See you tomorrow.

Written by Eshaan Chanda & Yash Tibrewal. Edited by Shreyas Sinha.

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