FPIs pour Rs 10,708 crore into domestic primary market in October

Synopsis

Foreign portfolio investors significantly boosted their primary market investments in October, channeling $1.2 billion amid substantial IPOs. This marks the fourth consecutive month of greater primary than secondary market investment. Overall FPI inflows turned positive in October, reaching $1.7 billion, driven by a buoyant market and festive sentiment.

ET Intelligence Group: The intensity of investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the domestic primary market increased significantly in October amid big-ticket IPOs. They invested $1.2 billion (₹10,708 crore) in the primary market during the month, which was the second-highest amount in the current calendar year after $1.7 (₹14,247 crore) billion investment in July. It was also the fourth consecutive month when FPIs invested more in the primary market compared with the secondary market. Overall FPI investment, including primary and secondary markets, turned positive to $1.7 billion in October after a decline in the previous three months.

In October, several companies turned to the primary market for fundraising helped by positive sentiment among investors. Amid festive cheer and relief in Goods and Services Tax (GST), the benchmark Sensex gained 4.6% in October, the second-highest monthly gain in 2025 following the 5.8% increase seen in March. The index has gained 7.4% in the first 10 months of 2025.

Agencies

Foreign investors pump in $1.2 b as Tata Capital, LG Electronics India and others tap the market

The prominent IPOs that hit the market in October were Tata Capital, which raised ₹15,512 crore, LG Electronics India's ₹11,607 crore offer, WeWork India, which raised ₹3,000 crore, and ₹2,518 crore raised by Canara HSBC Life Insurance. Lenskart, the eyewear company, also launched its primary issue on October 31 to raise ₹7,278 crore. The issue will close on November 4.

In the current calendar year so far, FPIs have invested $6.2 billion (₹54,292.5 crore) in the primary market while selling $22.2 billion (₹1.9 lakh crore) worth of equities in the secondary market. That reflects an overall outflow of nearly $16 billion (₹1.4 lakh crore) in the first 10 months of 2025. In the comparable period of the previous year, FPIs were net investors of $858.9 million (₹6,592.2 crore), helped by a robust $10.3 billion (₹85,897 crore) inflow in the primary market.

Domestic mutual funds continued to be net investors in equities during the month but the extent of inflow fell to ₹20,195.6 crore as of October 27, compared with ₹46,442 crore in September. They have invested ₹4.1 lakh crore so far in 2025, compared with ₹3.7 lakh in the corresponding period last year.

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