Infosys CEO Salil Parekh welcomes Zomato public issue, says internet IPOs will boost innovation in India

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh

Success of internet IPOs like Zomato is incredible and it will give boost to technology business and innovation that is coming out of India, said Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys on July 14.

Commenting on the internet IPOs in the country, Parekh, during the announcement of the company’s first quarter results, said, “It is incredible to see the success of all of these companies, many of them that are based on technology and in the way that they leverage it in the digital ecosystem. I think it is going to give a lot of boost to all tech businesses within the country and also innovation over the years increasingly coming from India.”

He further said it was impressive what these companies are building and wish them all the best in what they are building. “In any areas in the technology side that we can help we will absolutely support them,” he added.

Parekh's comment comes on the day of Zomato's successful IPO, as the offer has been oversubscribed on the first day of the bidding process itself. Apart from Zomato, Paytm, Policybazaar, Mobikwik, Nykaa, and Delhivery are also firming up plans for a public listing in India, even as there is a buzz of Flipkart and Freshworks listing in the US.

Last week, TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan welcomed the upcoming Internet IPO rush in India, stating that high-risk capital is very good news and a sign of maturity of the Indian capital market.

"I think it is overall very good and a sign of maturity of the capital market that money is being put at a risk basis. The real strength of the US is that risk capital is available in sufficient quantity," he said, in response to a question from Moneycontrol. He was speaking after TCS' earnings for the first quarter.

Gopinathan added that although it is a high-risk capital, the fact that it is available is very good news as it will feed innovative capacity in the ecosystem, leading to a significant positive impact.

"Personally I don't understand many of those valuation parameters but finance is an empirical science at the end of the day so whatever is happening that sets the theory going forward. So it is a step in the right direction," he said.