India becomes rare hub for green IPOs with US$4 billion of deals

[MUMBAI] India is seeing a revival in clean-energy initial public offerings (IPOs) as companies capitalise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for renewables.

Starting with Vikram Solar this week, more than a dozen green-energy companies have lined up to go public, seeking to raise more than US$4 billion in total, according to data from primedatabase.com and local media reports. That comes after the sector saw no major offerings this year in a sharp slowdown from the US$2.4 billion raised through IPOs in 2024.

The wave of green listings comes on the back of a pickup in India’s broader IPO market after a slow start to the year. A number of billion-dollar deals are on their way, and top arranger Kotak Mahindra Capital expects companies to raise over US$30 billion in the coming year.

Modi’s 2030 target to more than double clean-energy capacity to 500 gigawatts, nearly equivalent to all the power plants in the UK, France and Germany combined, fuelled a boom in green listings and share prices in 2024. But overheated valuations and project delays caused the frenzy to cool, and now, the deal pipeline is regaining momentum as stock prices come off their lows.

“A perfect storm of policy clarity, proven technologies and global ESG capital is powering India’s clean-energy IPO rush,” said Amit Ramchandani, managing director and chief executive officer at Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors. “Demand for round-the-clock green power is accelerating storage-linked projects.”

Modi announced an ambitious target for the world’s third-largest emitter to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 at the COP26 climate summit in November 2021. As India ramped up production incentives, solar, electric vehicles and wind power suppliers mushroomed in the country, spawning listing candidates.

India’s installed clean-energy capacity, including nuclear power, reached 246 gigawatts in July, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Solar led the mix with 119 gigawatts, followed by wind’s 52 gigawatts and hydropower’s 50 gigawatts.

The South Asian economy is a rare bright spot for clean energy-related IPOs, which have taken a beating globally in recent years under the weight of high interest rates and a fossil-fuel push by US President Donald Trump.

Vikram Solar closes its share sale this week, aiming to raise as much as 20.8 billion rupees (S$307 million). Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions has filed for an IPO this week, while the Securities and Exchange Board of India approved Fujiyama Power Systems’ IPO plans in July.

KKR-backed Hero Future Energies has appointed bankers for a 50 billion rupee IPO, the Economic Times reported. The firms are part of a strong pipeline that may see shares listed over the coming year. BLOOMBERG