‘Growing retail investor base drives Indian cos with global ops to list on domestic bourses’
Singapore: A rising number of Indian companies with substantial overseas operations are opting to domicile and list in India, encouraged by stronger domestic market valuations, a compelling consumption story and a rapidly expanding retail investor base, a member of the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) said on Tuesday.
Dhanajay Phadnis of IMAS said India saw a large supply of equities in 2025, driven by a surge in initial public offerings and stake sales by private equity-backed firms. He noted that trading volumes in Indian markets are now primarily driven by domestic investors rather than foreign capital, highlighting the growing depth and resilience of the country’s capital markets. Speaking at a briefing on the 2026 IMAS Investment Managers’ Outlook Survey, Phadnis said this trend is expected to persist and supports long-term confidence in India’s economic growth prospects. However, he cautioned that Indian equities have traded at relatively higher valuations compared with regional peers over the past year, while markets such as China and South Korea offered more attractive pricing.
The survey showed investor sentiment remains flexible, with India cited by 13 per cent of respondents as a potential outperformer and by 12 per cent as a potential underperformer, reflecting a balanced assessment. Overall, Japan and China were seen as the most promising markets, followed by India, Singapore and Taiwan. The Outlook Survey also flagged expectations of heightened geopolitical risks and market volatility in 2026. While views on global inflation remain mixed, 69 per cent of respondents expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by more than 0.5 percentage points by the end of the year. About 60 per cent expressed concern that the independence of major central banks could come under pressure.
IMAS chairman Jenny Sofian said the findings show fund managers are adapting to sustained uncertainty while identifying high-conviction investment opportunities across Asia, even as geopolitical risks intensify.
