India gives new hope to technology investors | Economy

July marked a milestone for technology startups IndiaJust as investors were intimidated by China’s repression of Internet companies, the fundraising record diverted attention to the world’s second-most populous market.

Z Food distribution utilityOmato Limited Morgan Stanley became the first unicorn in the country to raise $ 1.3 billion with the support of Tiger Global and Fidelity investments.

BDM India, the digital payment startup, has submitted a draft proposal for $ 2.2 billion, the largest initial public offering, while retailer Flipkart Online Services Pvt raised $ 3.6 billion worth $ 38,000. Indian Startup.

“Indian entrepreneurs have been making quiet start-ups for a decade, during which time the country’s internet infrastructure has improved and there is a good appetite for technology stocks globally,” said Hans Dung, managing partner of GGV. , Managing $ 9.2 billion in assets. “Investors are starting to see big gains and expect India to be a China.”

Lenscord, an online eyewear retailer, said it had raised $ 220 million from investors, including Singapore’s Temasek Holdings PDE and Falcon Edge Capital. He previously worked for KKR & Co. And raised money from SoftBank Group Corp.

Unlike ChinaWith the online market booming, India’s 625 million Internet users are making inroads into the world of video streaming, social media and e-commerce.

Opportunities in online shopping are particularly attractive because e-commerce accounts for less than 3% of retail transactions. Technology start-ups in India are still paying to build supply chains and delivery networks.

India’s population is expected to be higher than China’s in this decade and the current mood among investors cannot be different in neighboring countries. China has seized its technology companies, wiping $ 800 billion from market valuations since the February peak and cutting billions from the net worth of its most popular entrepreneurs.

Nilesh Shah, chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management in Mumbai, said Indian technology companies could “attract global investors who have burned their hands with Chinese technology companies”.

India contracted $ 6.3 billion in finance and technology start-ups in the second quarter, while funding for China-based companies fell 18 percent to $ 27.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to research firm Data CB Intelligence.