JPMorgan sees D-Street building on record levels of IPO activity – News Air Insight

The volume of Indian initial public offerings is poised to grow as companies and private equity firms monetize their investments, according Anu Aiyengar, global head of advisory and M&A at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Investors are betting that India will build on last year’s record, when nearly $21 billion was raised in IPOs, including the country’s biggest-ever listing — by Hyundai Motor Co.’s local unit — and two others that exceeded $1 billion.

With more money flowing in and a growing number of investors, IPO levels “could be much higher” going forward, Aiyengar said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Mumbai, where the bank is holding its annual India conference. JPMorgan is preparing more IPOs in India than any other market, she said.

M&A activity should also pick up as confidence rebuilds and uncertainty eases, Aiyengar said.

“If you can work through these headwinds and have higher certainty, I think there is upside to those volumes,” she said, adding that more M&A activity could be driven by the need for scale in artificial intelligence and supply chains.

India has been hit hard by the US because of its purchases of Russian oil, with the Trump administration levying a 50% tax on some goods from the country. There was a further shock over the weekend as US President Donald Trump signed an order to add a $100,000 entry fee for new H-1B visas — Indian-born workers account for more than 70% of those visa holders.