Hyundai’s ‘landmark’ US$3 billion India IPO signals market confidence

The South Korean carmaker’s proposed IPO will be one of the largest in India in recent years

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A man rides a scooter past a Hyundai dealership in Mumbai. South Korea’s Hyundai is the second-largest carmaker in India. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 19 Jun 2024Updated: 12:36pm, 19 Jun 2024

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motors is seeking approval to launch a US$3 billion initial public offering in India, one of the country’s largest ever, signalling strong investor confidence following the recent re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hyundai, India’s second-largest carmaker, confirmed in a regulatory filing on Monday that it planned to launch an IPO. The move is a sign of Hyundai’s confidence and plans to expand its operations further in the world’s third-largest car market, analysts say. Its South Korean parent company will sell up to 142 million of a total of 812 million shares, or 17.5 per cent, in the IPO.

Hyundai’s IPO would be the largest among several sizeable public listings in India launched in recent years, surpassing Indian mobile payments company Paytm’s US$2.19 billion IPO in 2021 and state-run Life Insurance Corporation’s US$2.45 billion listing in 2022.

Several other Indian companies such as food delivery service provider Swiggy, e-scooter marker Ola Electric and financial company Bajaj Housing Finance are expected to launch IPOs in the coming months valued at around US$1.25 billion, US$843 million and US$880 million, respectively.

The time between large IPOs appeared appears to have been shortening in recent years, according to Pranav Haldea, managing director of Prime Database, which specialises in major financial market data.

Puneet Gupta, director of mobility at S&P Global, said Hyundai was looking to expand in India because it was expected to be the only country among the world’s five biggest car markets to grow over the next 10 years.