Mumbai: Despite lingering uncertainties from the West Asia war, India’s primary market is likely to gather pace in the second half of the year, with the much-awaited listings of SBI Funds Management and Manipal Health in June-July leading the way. These marquee offerings are seen kicking off a broader pipeline of large and mid-sized issues, much in line with the recent trend of IPO activity picking up after a relatively subdued first half.
While SBI Funds Management has kicked off roadshows for its planned ₹13,000-crore IPO, Temasek-backed Manipal Health has also started meeting institutional investors ahead of its proposed $1.1 billion listing, Mint reported earlier this week.
Meanwhile, nearly 30-40 bankers met in Singapore last week as they pitched for STT Global Data Centres’ $500 million IPO in India. The company is seeking a valuation of about $5-6 billion, although formal appointments are yet to be made, according to people in the know. STT Global did not respond to Mint’s requests for a comment till the time of publishing.
“If there is no major U-turn in terms of the agreement over the West Asia crisis, IPO activity should come back. Volatility is the only enemy of an IPO. We believe there is enough appetite in the market to for the pipeline of good companies that have lined up for FY27,” said Ramesh Srinivasan, managing director and chief executive at Kotak Investment Banking.
India's public market activity has been muted due to macroeconomic uncertainties driven by the ongoing US-Iran war, which has sucked liquidity out of the emerging markets. Several companies have chosen to defer or scrap their listing plans.
SBI Funds, a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) and French asset manager Amundi SA, is set to offer a total of 203.7 million shares for sale, translating into a 10% stake in SBI Funds, its draft papers filed with the Registrar of Companies on 19 March showed.
Five days later, Bengaluru-based Manipal filed its preliminary IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), with plans to raise up to ₹8,000 crore in primary capital with its investors selling over 43.2 million shares. The IPO is likely to value the Ranjan Pai-founded firm at $8.0-8.5 billion, Mint reported earlier this week.
Both the IPO-bound companies are expected to get the regulator’s nod in the coming weeks.
“The reopening of the IPO window in the June-July period could act as an important sentiment marker for the broader market. Successful execution and healthy participation in large public issues may provide confidence to other companies that have been evaluating market conditions and waiting for an appropriate entry point,” said Prakash Bulusu, joint CEO at IIFL Capital.
With a strong pipeline of companies across sectors, Bulusu said there are encouraging signs of revival in primary market activity after a phase where issuers and investors adopted a more measured approach amid volatility and global uncertainties.
Recent years have seen a relatively quiet first half and a build-up of a steady pipeline of issues into the latter part.
In 2025, India's IPO market put up a record show with 103 companies raising ₹1.76 lakh crore, with most of the issues concentrated in the second half, according to Prime Database data. This year, since January, about 20 companies have raised ₹19,854 crore through IPOs on the main board, while 16 had raised ₹27,687 crore in the same period last year.
This year, if all goes as planned and the trendline continues, other large companies such as Zepto, National Stock Exchange, Reliance Jio, Flipkart and PhonePe may be encouraged to tap the markets in the latter part of the calendar year.
The pipeline may get further support from Sebi's recent extension of approvals granted to companies seeking to go public. Observation letters expiring between 1 April and 30 September 2026 will now remain valid until 30 September 2026, the regulator said in April.
“As market stability improves and risk appetite gradually returns, quality issuers with strong fundamentals are likely to revisit listing timelines, particularly in sectors where there is growth visibility and investor interest…," said Bulusu. "Overall, we believe the IPO market is moving from a phase of caution towards selective optimism.”