Citi sees $10-12 bn IPO pipeline in 3 qtrs

Amol Gupte, Asia South head at Citi, believes India's reform drive will help navigate the uncertainty posed by US tariffs that the bank expects to settle at 25 per cent.

- Amol Gupte

In an interview with Manojit Saha and Subrata Panda in Mumbai, he noted that the FII exodus was a nuanced phenomenon as they continued to bet big in the primary market that Citi expects to boom from now to Q1 2026-27.

Edited excerpts: How do you see the GST reforms announced recently?

There is a famous saying—never waste a good crisis. What we are seeing in India right now is a little bit of that. Previously, income tax realignment was done, and now the GST reform has happened. You could argue whether this would have happened on its own with the same pace, or if it is happening now because of the tariff shock. But I see all of this as very positive. India is going into this with a strong balance sheet, a strong financial sector, and a strong corporate sector. So there is no better time to do a reform than a time like now.

There is more reform that India should look at to improve the ease of doing business. If you look across the region (South Asia), India stands out because of its domestic consumption story. Most other markets in Southeast Asia are more export-oriented economies. So, the overall India story is still incredibly intact.

Will this reinvigorate demand in the economy?

It will certainly drive demand. Clearly, whatever the government is bearing as a cost is a give into the consumer's pocket.

'Private capex not as energised as it could be'

Amol Gupte, Asia South Head, Citi-in an interview with Manojit Saha and Subrata Panda in Mumbai-says interest rates in India may stay low for a while.

Furthermore, contrary to net figures, he believes pure FDI story remains "very strong" for the country. Edited excerpts:

What will be the economic impact of the US tariffs?