PEs on way to become mainstream in India: Industry leaders

Private equity (PE) firms have emerged as the largest contributors to foreign direct investment (FDI) in India and are playing a significant role in job creation, senior industry leaders said on Thursday.

- BS REPORTER

“For PE specifically, India remains underpenetrated. It has been the fastest-growing large economy in the world for the past three years, and we expect it to be a global driver of PE demand,” said Hari Gopalakrishnan, partner, head of India and co-head of services at Swedish PE firm EQT, during a panel discussion moderated by Nivedita Mookerji of Business Standard.

Gopal Jain, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer of Gaja Alternative Asset Management, the first PE firm planning a listing in India, said the country now has enough data and a clear trend to show that PE is on its way to becoming a mainstream sector.

“For many years, India has been the fastest-growing alternative market in the world, though that’s partly because we started from a small base. PE still punches below its weight,” said Jain.