DBS wins mandate in $1.3 billion IPO as it enters India’s booming share sale business

MUMBAI – DBS Group Holdings has entered India’s buoyant equity capital market (ECM), marking a push into one of the world’s busiest venues for share sales.

Singapore’s biggest lender secured its first mandate in the country from Manipal Health Enterprises, which filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on March 24 that is expected to raise about US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion). Temasek is the largest shareholder in both the hospital chain and DBS.

A DBS spokesperson confirmed the development, saying the bank has expanded into ECMs under its merchant banking licence in India. It now has a fully operational investment banking platform in the country.

India’s fund-raising activity surged to more than US$22 billion in 2025, ranking as the fourth-largest market globally.

Proceeds from IPOs in 2026 may reach a record for a third consecutive year, supported by a strong pipeline and robust investor demand, according to investment bankers like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

DBS holds “strong conviction in the long-term prospects, continuous evolution and global integration of the Indian capital markets”, according to the spokesperson.

This expansion is a “natural progression” that reinforces DBS’ long-term commitment to the Indian market where it undertakes corporate, consumer and wealth banking, the spokesperson added.

Its new ECM desk will cater to Indian corporates, financial sponsors and institutional clients, the spokesperson said.

It plans to offer a comprehensive suite of investment banking services across debt and equity, and will use its Asian distribution network to connect Indian issuers with a broader investor base.

Mr Sanjog Kusumwal, an ECM banker from DBS’ Singapore operations, will relocate to India to lead investment banking and build the onshore ECM franchise, while also expanding fixed-income origination.

DBS has been positive about growth in India and willing to commit capital to the market. It took over Lakshmi Vilas Bank in 2020, the first time the Indian authorities turned to a foreign lender to bail out a struggling local rival. Former chief executive Piyush Gupta is chairman of Temasek International’s Indian operations, after he retired from DBS in 2025.

Investment banks in India earned a record US$417 million in underwriting fees for IPOs in 2025, according to capital markets data provider LSEG. The average fee paid to bankers for IPOs rose to 1.86 per cent of a deal’s value, versus 1.67 per cent a year earlier, the data shows. BLOOMBERG