Domestic demand slowdown is cyclical, not structural: Nimesh Shah

The country’s macroeconomic backdrop is fundamentally resilient, with inflation under control and the fiscal situation stable.

- Ram Sahgal

The only soft spot that remains is domestic demand, which has moderated in recent quarters but could bounce back, thanks to the government's goods and services tax-related support and rate actions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), believes Nimesh Shah, managing director and chief executive officer of the IPO-bound ICICI Prudential AMC. Asked about the increasing competition in the AMC business, Shah said that low household participation in mutual funds (MFs) and the track record of the fund house create enough room for growth among all contenders.

You will join the ranks of listed asset managers like Nippon AMC, HDFC AMC, Aditya Birla SunLife, etc. It's fully offer for sale (OFS), so how do you see the listing benefiting the company over the years?

Listing does not change the way we run the company. Our fiduciary responsibility, investment philosophy, and risk management remain exactly the same. The MF structure in India is designed so that shareholder outcomes are directly linked to investor outcomes. So, focus remains on delivering a good investment experience to investors. The anchor portion saw robust participation by Sovereign Wealth Funds, long-only funds, etc. How do you think the overall appetite for the last big issue for the year will be, given that almost half of 2025 listings are trading below their issue price?

Primary markets are mainly driven by fundamentals rather than short-term price movements. While market sentiment can fluctuate, capital tends to gravitate toward businesses with durable models, strong governance and long-term growth visibility. India’s economic trajectory, rising financialization of savings and increasing institutional participation continue to provide a support for public issuances.