India's $100-billion mcap club grows to eight with three new entries

The number of corporate groups in India valued at over $100 billion has grown to eight with three new additions in the past year, riding on the back of a sharp rally in domestic equities. 

Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel Group, ICICI Bank and Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group are the three new entrants to the club. Sitting pretty at the top, is the over 150-year-old Tata Group with a combined market capitalisation (mcap) of $366 billion, followed by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group ($267 billion) and Gautam Adani’s Adani Group ($205 billion).  

With a combined market value of almost $1.5 trillion, these eight groups account for nearly 30 per cent of India’s market cap. Among the eight conglomerates, Airtel has seen the highest increase in market value with 65 per cent jump in flagship Bharti Airtel’s market value to nearly $100 billion, and also listing its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom in May. The Adani group has seen the second-highest jump in market value at 65 per cent, rebounding from the rout triggered by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations. 

The Aditya Birla group has seen its market value jump by more than 50 per cent, making it the latest entrant to the $100-billion club. The HDFC group is the only one to see an erosion in market value. The Nifty 500 index has risen nearly 35 per cent in the past one year.