IPO aimed to further Indianise operations, says Hyundai Motor India

(L to R) Wangdo Hur, Chief Financial Officer & Whole Time Director, Unsoo Kim, Managing Director, Limited and Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer & Whole Time Director, from Hyundai Motor India Limited

The upcoming Rs 27,870 crore initial public offering of the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, the first such instance of the company listing its subsidiary in an overseas market, is aimed to further Indianise operations, a senior company official said on Friday.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd's initial public offering (IPO), the largest in the country's history, will open for public subscription on October 15 and conclude on October 17. Anchor investors will bid on October 14.

"We have been in India now for more than 26 years. We have a very high market share. We are at number two position in India in the passenger vehicle space. We have got so much love and affection from the people of India. So we believe this is the right time to take one step forward and even further Indianise our operations," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) COO Tarun Garg told PTI.

He further said," The whole aim is to really become the most trusted brand of India." Garg was responding to a query behind reasons for the company choosing India for a public listing and not other countries.

"If you see India as a country, it is really doing very well. The GDP is very good, much higher than the global GDP growth rates," he said, adding in the last three to four years, India has emerged as a very good destination for all the major players and the pace of growth even further accelerated.

Also, with the company's growth story set to further accelerate in India, Garg said it is an opportune time to go public.

"The Pune plant (acquired from General Motors) is also coming (up). We believe that this is the right time to invite and give the opportunity to all the local investors, as well as the global investors, to become a part of this growth story…this is something very important, and it will really make us more inclusive," Garg noted.

Moreover, he said, "This IPO gives us an opportunity to really pursue some global standards in terms of excellence, in terms of operations, in terms of governance. All these things are really working in favour of an IPO."

On Hyundai choosing the Indian arm for a public listing and not other countries', Garg said, "We are number two player in India (in passenger vehicles), outside of (South) Korea…and we have a double-digit market share. These two are very significant points and that Hyundai in India has done really well, that gives the confidence."

Further, he said, "The brand Hyundai has really been accepted very well in India. We have been able to appeal to the Indian people generally. This is probably the right country to really go for the IPO."

HMIL has set a price band of Rs 1,865 to Rs 1,960 per share for the offering, valuing the automaker at Rs 1.6 lakh crore (about $19 billion). At the upper end of the price band, the IPO size has been pegged at Rs 27,870 crore.

The company's IPO will surpass the Rs 21,000 crore offering by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in May 2022.