New Delhi, August 6 (ANI): India retained its position as the world’s leading market for initial public offerings (IPOs) by number of issues during fiscal year 2025-26, while ranking third globally in terms of funds raised, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) Annual Report for 2025-26.
Highlighting the country’s strong primary market activity, SEBI said the equity market maintained robust momentum during the year despite global uncertainties, including geopolitical conflicts, trade tensions, volatile capital flows, and rapid technological change.
“The primary equity market demonstrated continued dynamism, with India ranking first globally in the number of IPOs and third in terms of funds raised,” SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in his statement in the report.
To sustain this momentum, the market regulator said it introduced several reforms aimed at making capital raising easier while maintaining investor protection.
Among the key measures, SEBI restructured the minimum public offering framework by linking public float requirements to issue size. It also extended the timeline for the largest listed companies to achieve the mandatory 25% minimum public shareholding to 10 years, allowing large companies to access public markets without facing frequent dilution after listing.
The regulator also allowed founders of new-age companies to retain employee stock option plans (ESOPs) granted before an IPO, saying the move would preserve long-term incentives while ensuring transparency for public shareholders.
In his message, Pandey said India’s capital markets remained resilient during one of the most challenging years in recent history, demonstrating their ability to function efficiently despite global geopolitical conflicts, trade disputes, and volatile asset prices.
He said SEBI’s regulatory approach had shifted toward building “resilience by design” by embedding structural integrity through balanced regulation and AI-driven oversight while simplifying compliance requirements for market participants.
The chairman noted that India will require significantly larger pools of capital to finance its long-term development goals, including infrastructure, manufacturing, and the energy transition, adding that these investments cannot be funded by the banking system alone.
According to the report, SEBI’s policy focus during the year was to strengthen the equity market, corporate bond market, and alternative investment ecosystem so they complement traditional financing sources and support India’s goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047. (ANI)
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