Global growth is expected to remain moderate but resilient through 2026, while India and other key emerging markets continue to attract disproportionate capital and IPO activity. In this environment, issuers that plan their funding around credible windows and the appropriate instruments can still access equity on attractive terms.

This note distils recent evidence from the IMF, OECD, EY and Reuters on growth, IPO flows and India’s position, then translates it into practical guidance on 2026 fundraising windows and the relative suitability of rights issues, QIPs and private placements for serious mid and large cap issuers.

Strategic note for mid-cap and large-cap CFOs and promoters

The capital markets are entering 2026 with an unusual combination of steady macro growth, moderating inflation and episodic volatility driven by trade policy, technology valuations and geopolitics. The October 2025 World Economic Outlook from the IMF projects global growth softening only marginally from 3.3 percent in 2024 to 3.2 percent in 2025 and 3.1 percent in 2026, with advanced economies growing around 1.5 percent and emerging markets just above 4 percent.

The OECD’s December 2025 Economic Outlook echoes this pattern, with global GDP growth projected at 3.2 percent in 2025 and 2.9 percent in 2026, and further policy rate reductions expected as inflation converges towards central-bank targets.

For India and several other key emerging markets, the backdrop is more supportive. The OECD’s country assessment for India notes that the policy rate has already been reduced from 6.5 percent in January to 5.5 percent by September 2025, with inflation running below the Reserve Bank of India’s 4 percent target and bank credit supported by strong balance sheets and easing financial conditions.

Taken together, this suggests that 2026 is unlikely to be a “boom” year in growth terms, but it should still offer constructive conditions for well-prepared issuers, particularly in markets where real rates are falling and domestic savings continue to deepen.

Primary-market dynamics: where investors are already voting with capital

After two years of subdued issuance following the 2021 cycle, global equity capital markets have normalised. A 2024 review by Houlihan Lokey reports that US equity capital markets raised approximately USD 273 billion in 2024, the third-highest total in the past decade, with convertibles contributing about 32 percent of proceeds and a particularly strong Q4 – the most active quarter since 2021.

On IPOs specifically, EY’s Global IPO Trends work notes that the first half of 2024 saw volumes and proceeds lower year-on-year, but with a marked divergence: Americas and EMEIA rebounded while Asia-Pacific remained subdued. Industrials accounted for the largest number of IPOs, while technology raised the most capital.

India stands out within this landscape. According to EY’s 2024 data and subsequent coverage, India rose to the top globally by number of IPOs for the first time, with IPO proceeds of about USD 19.9 billion in 2024, the highest in over twenty years.

Prime Database and media summaries indicate that 91 Indian firms together raised approximately ₹1.59 trillion through main-board IPOs in 2024, with total equity fundraising (IPOs, QIPs, rights and other routes) approaching ₹4 trillion, setting an all-time record.

The momentum has extended into 2025. JPMorgan expects India’s 2025 IPO market to surpass already-record 2024 levels, citing USD 20.5 billion raised across 91 offerings in 2024 and a very strong pipeline for late 2025. Reuters estimates that by September 2025, Indian firms had already raised USD 8.2 billion through 49 IPOs, with nearly USD 31.7 billion of potential deals approved or pending.

More recently, large consumer-tech offerings such as Meesho’s USD 604 million IPO in December 2025 have seen full subscription on day one, with strong oversubscription from retail and institutional investors in what is already a record year for tech listings in India.

For CFOs and promoters in mid-cap and large-cap companies, the signal is clear: investors remain willing to support seasoned growth and balance-sheet repair, but the bar for clarity on strategy, governance, ESG and use-of-proceeds is now significantly higher.

Indicative 2026 fundraising windows

While no one can forecast the exact pattern of issuance in 2026, the data above point to several practical assumptions:

Our working hypothesis for 2026 is therefore not of a uniformly “strong” or “weak” year, but of a year in which successful issuers are those that align their financing plan with the reporting calendar, have prepared disclosure and investor education well in advance, and are ready to execute when market micro-conditions are supportive.

Rights issues, QIPs and private placements: indicative suitability

Instrument choice will depend on your specific balance-sheet, rating, shareholder profile and strategic agenda. At a high level:

Across all three instruments, rating considerations are central. A properly sequenced equity raise can support rating stability or even an upgrade path, whereas excessive leverage prior to issuance can constrain both pricing and investor appetite. In practice, we would usually model a small set of scenarios across debt, hybrid and equity, stress-testing them against your current rating band, covenants and sector-specific metrics.

How we would apply this to your situation

For an issuer in your size bracket, our typical approach would be to:

We would be pleased to walk you through this framework in a confidential session, using your balance sheet, pipeline and rating profile to convert the high-level views above into an actionable 2026 capital-raising roadmap.

Parting thoughts

Authored by:

Manoj Saha
Managing Director, Dickenson World

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