IPO RUSH HOW TO STEER YOUR IPO JOURNEY

IPO boom is back with a bang. Amid the listing-day frenzy, the real question is whether investors are chasing momentum or backing fundamentals. We bust myths to give you real strategies

- By Kundan Kishore

The primary market is buzzing, defying volatility and rewriting records. After nearly 17 years, the number of mainboard initial public offers (IPOs) in a single year has crossed the 100 mark, showing growing investor appetite in the capital markets. Before this, the year 2007 recorded around 100 issues that together raised ₹34,179 crore.

What makes the current cycle far more significant is the scale of capital mobilisation. While the number of IPOs may mirror the 2007 peak, the amount raised in 2025 is nearly six times higher, at close to ₹2 lakh crore. This sharp jump is not just about higher valuations but also the growing maturity of Indian businesses, stronger balance sheets, and increased participation from both retail and domestic institutional investors.

Significantly, strong investor appetite has been observed for the second year in a row. In 2024, 91 IPOs hit the market and garnered around ₹1.60 lakh crore.

"For the first time in over three decades of data tracking, the primary market has delivered back-to-back all-time highs. Given the size of the Indian economy and the breadth of its business ecosystem, a sustained IPO pipeline is a positive development," says Pranav Haldea, managing director, Prime database.

In 2025, LG Electronics India and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company received 6.5 million and 5.5 million applications, respectively, placing them among the top seven most-subscribed IPOs in India by number of applications.

This surge in investor participation in the primary market, proved by oversubscription and the number of applicants, is despite persistent volatility in the equity market due to global trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainties, weaker currency, and shifting capital flows.