India’s Markets Need Global Giants

Good Morning. India’s IPO season is buzzing, but not all listings are created equal. Hyundai and LG’s debut on Indian exchanges stands out, not only because of their size, but also for what they signal. If India wants deeper markets and steadier capital, it needs more blue-chip MNCs to come to its bourses.

After last week's gloom and doom, India's equity indices rose for the fourth straight session on Tuesday thanks to financial stocks. The BSE Sensex closed at 81,926.75, gaining 136 points or 0.17%. The NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,108.03, gaining 30.65 points or 0.12%.

In other news, GST and the festive season bring cheer to auto sales. Meanwhile, this week’s Build on Blockchain tells us it can help us find what food product is truly organic.

THE TAKE

It’s Time India Encouraged More Global Companies To Its Bourses

By Govindraj Ethiraj

LG Electronics India's $1.3 billion IPO was fully subscribed on the first day of bidding on Tuesday.

The IPO marks the culmination of a journey that started a few decades ago.

Korean auto giant Hyundai came to India in 1996, when the Indian car market was nascent. Hyundai launched its first model, the Santro, in 1998.

LG, the Korean consumer durables giant, came exactly a year later, in 1997.

At that time, Hyundai and LG were barely seen or recognised as brands globally.

But both Korean companies have done something which few international brands have done in recent decades, which is to go public and list on Indian bourses.

Hyundai listed in India a year ago, in October. 

MNC Listing Drought

Most international companies and brands that have listed in India did so decades ago.  

Some of them were forced because of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act or FERA of 1973, which mandated a maximum shareholding of 40%. 

Though some companies were ahead, like Hindustan Unilever, which went public in 1956. 

Bata was listed in 1973, and Nestle in 1978. Other MNCs went public in the 1980s and 1990s. Things slowed down after the 2000s  to almost nothing.

Maruti Suzuki, the Japanese auto company, was among the last major MNCs to list in 2003, though it set up shop in India in 1981, as a joint venture with the Government of India.

The question to ask actually is, why are more overseas companies not listing in India? 

And what does it say about those who are, like LG and Hyundai? 

India’s Tough Market

In the auto sector, the departure of companies like General Motors and Ford from India showed that India is a tough market to do business.

Going public calls for an additional level of commitment, which is mostly not feasible at an early stage.

So, could one say that it takes at least 20 to 25 years before a global MNC reaches a level of comfort to take its roots deeper by going public?

At least that seems to be the case with both LG and Hyundai.

Many more companies have, of course, set up shop in India in the last 30 years. 

But it is not a necessary corporate strategy that companies with a large local presence have to list here as well.

It is also not feasible, for example, that a company leaning on India as an offshoring base rather than as a market would list here.

Conversely, it is only brands or companies that have really immersed themselves over the years with Indian consumers, individual or institutional, that would consider doing an IPO.

Doing an IPO is a tough process. 

It calls for considerable preparatory work and, more importantly, a level of disclosures which you are otherwise not obligated to make.

And these have to be made every quarter, and you become answerable to shareholders in India and at the global headquarters.

The Bright Side

But the advantages to the economy are several.

An MNC listing in India, like LG and Hyundai, is good for the Indian market and economy, apart from reflecting a more permanent stake in the country’s growth story.

Willy nilly, these Korean majors will grow the domestic business and thus the economy. 

They will repatriate the profits and maybe some royalties, but that is part of the game.

There is another reason such listings must be welcomed. MNC stocks and companies have generally scored higher on governance and returns to shareholders than the median. 

And also set benchmarks to follow.

Their stock prices have reflected both good business growth, brand strength and high-quality management talent and pools.

Hindustan Unilever or Nestle are good examples, when viewed over time and thus a plus for shareholders looking for good companies with strong franchises to invest in for the longer term.

Encouraging IPOs

India must thus encourage more MNCs to list in the country and thus develop deeper roots.

There is a feeling that the current IPO rush — about $5 billion this month alone — is seeing some good quality IPOs but also some not-so-good ones.

That is also part of the course.

But more blue-chip MNC listings are desirable and must be welcomed.

The Reserve Bank of India’s move to ease up financing for investing in IPOs appears to acknowledge this or is responding to it, implicitly.

Japanese brands like Honda, Toyota and Sony also arrived in the mid-1990s. Among many others. Will they list at some point too ? We don't know right now.

But as you look back, you can see what the opening up of a market, in this case India, after decades of isolation, can do in terms of attracting capital, technology and talent.

We are hopefully on the next stage of this immersion, absorption and expansion.

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BUILD ON BLOCKCHAIN

Chasing Organic Froth: Blockchain Can Reveal What’s Truly Natural

By Vishwas Ved

What?

The craze for organic food products has caught on pretty well in India. Whether you shop online or from a supermarket, you will see organic labels stuck to most edible things. Organic honey, organic turmeric, organic jaggery. The catalogue is huge.  

But here’s the thing, very few people know about: a lot of what’s labelled organic probably isn’t.

We simply don’t have a way to prove where our food really comes from or what’s been done to it. In other words, the whole supply chain is full of blind spots.

In August this year, the Indian government initiated action against five agencies for certifying ordinary cotton as organic cotton.

In November 2024, the Indian Customs Department slapped a penalty on two exporters for trying to ship non-basmati white rice as organic non-basmati white rice.

Why? 

There are tons of data associated with everything organic — how the soil is treated, what chemicals are used (or not used), how the food is stored, moved, and packed. 

All this information is required to establish whether what has come from the farm to your kitchen is organic or not. 

Unfortunately, none of that data flows cleanly. Some of it gets lost, and most of it remains hidden or gets manipulated as it moves downstream. And that’s where the problem lies. 

There is another aspect of the problem. “Organic” doesn’t mean the same thing everywhere.

But this can change with blockchain, a secure technology that does not allow anybody to manipulate data. 

How can this technology break our dependence non-descript quality certificates?

This series is brought to you in partnership with Algorand India.

CORE NUMBER

34%

That’s how much Navratri retail sales of automobiles grew year-on-year, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) September 2025 data. Overall, September retail sales grew by 5.2% as well.

FADA credited this jump to the government’s recent GST cuts and increased festive demand. Additionally, it noted that sales were slow until September 21st as customers waited until the GST cuts came in force the following day. 

By the Numbers: Except for construction equipment, which saw a fall in growth because of heavy rains, every other segment saw increased sales during Navratri year-on-year. 

Future: FADA predicts that above-normal monsoon, strong kharif harvest and steady RBI rates will boost purchasing power. Additionally, this year’s Diwali and Dhanteras will offer the most affordable festive sales, making this year’s festive season a record-breaking one. 

FROM THE PERIPHERY

Boeing Faces Scrutiny

India’s aviation regulator has sought detailed information from Boeing after an emergency power system — the Ram Air Turbine — unexpectedly deployed on an Air India Boeing 787 during its final approach to Birmingham from Amritsar on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Backstory: The aircraft landed safely, with all electrical and hydraulic systems later found normal. It was briefly grounded before resuming operations. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the government will review the incident with stakeholders to prevent recurrences.

What’s Next? The Federation of Indian Pilots noted the turbine deployed at 500 feet and has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to inspect all Dreamliners in India. The event comes months after a fatal Air India 787 crash in June, where fuel engine switches were found to have flipped mid-air.

Home Cooked Meals Get Cheaper

In September, the cost of home-cooked vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis decreased by 10% and 6% year-over-year, respectively, driven by lower prices of vegetables and pulses. According to Crisil Intelligence’s ‘Roti Rice Rate report’, potato prices plunged 31% due to cold storage units offloading stocks, while onion and tomato prices dropped 46% and 8% amid higher supplies.

How We Got Here? Pulses became 16% cheaper due to increased imports of Bengal gram, yellow peas, and black gram, permitted until March 2026. However, a 21% rise in vegetable oil prices and a 6% uptick in LPG cylinder rates curbed the overall decline.

Flashpoint: Month-on-month, vegetarian thali costs eased 3% as tomato prices dipped 21%, but non-vegetarian thali costs rose 3% following a 10% jump in broiler prices due to tight supplies.

Touch. Pay. Done.

India will allow users to authenticate UPI payments using biometrics like fingerprint or facial recognition instead of numeric PINs, starting October 8, according to sources Reuters spoke to. 

The Lead: The system will rely on Aadhaar-linked biometric data and aims to make digital payments faster and more secure. The rollout follows new RBI guidelines from September 2025, which permit “alternative authentication mechanisms” beyond traditional PINs or OTPs, encouraging banks and fintechs to adopt biometric verification for two-factor security. 

Origin: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will showcase this upgrade at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai this week.

The Missile Tax Mystery

Indian authorities are investigating Adani Defence Systems & Technologies for allegedly evading about Rs 770 million ($9 million) in import duties by misclassifying missile components, according to a Reuters report. 

Setup: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence launched the probe in March after finding that Adani declared parts for short-range missiles as long-range systems, which qualify for duty exemptions. 

Impact: Officials said Adani could face demands to pay the full duty amount plus penalties if violations are proven, equivalent to $18 million. The company said it has submitted clarifications to customs authorities and believes the issue is already resolved.

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