NEW DELHI, India: LG Electronics India made a blockbuster market debut, soaring 50.4% and hitting a US$13.07 billion valuation, surpassing its South Korean parent as investors rushed into India's most sought-after IPO since 2008.

Shares of the Indian arm of LG Electronics opened at 1,710.10 rupees on the National Stock Exchange, well above their issue price of 1,140 rupees, before climbing to 1,714.90 rupees. The surge pushed the company's market value past both its $8.73 billion IPO target and the roughly $9 billion market capitalization of its Seoul-listed parent.

The listing marks India's best performance for a billion-dollar IPO since 2021 and underscores investor enthusiasm in what is shaping up to be the country's second-busiest quarter for new listings on record. Recent high-profile debuts from WeWork India and Tata Capital, by contrast, have disappointed.

"After a long time, we're seeing a genuinely strong IPO in the consumer space, solid fundamentals, reasonable valuations, and sector-leading growth prospects," said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO of HDFC Securities.

The debut caps a spectacular run-up for the company, India's second-largest appliance maker. It manufactures televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines. Its $1.3 billion IPO drew overwhelming interest, attracting bids worth nearly $50 billion, exchange data showed.

That makes it the most subscribed billion-dollar IPO in almost two decades, eclipsing the demand seen in listings such as Life Insurance Corporation of India's $2.7 billion IPO in 2022, Paytm's $2.5 billion debut, and Zomato's $1.3 billion flotation in 2021.

Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) subscribed 166.5 times their quota, while non-institutional and retail investors subscribed 22.4 times and 3.54 times, respectively.

"Institutional investors are unlikely to be satisfied with the current 5–6 billion rupee allocation and will be forced to participate aggressively in the listing and beyond to achieve reasonable sizing," Relli said.

The strong showing from LG Electronics India adds to growing momentum in India's equity markets, where a surge of domestic and global investor interest has helped power record-breaking IPO activity.

The company's debut valuation also puts it ahead of domestic rivals Whirlpool India, Voltas, and Havells, which are valued between $1.7 billion and $10.4 billion.

The success of LG Electronics India, backed by a globally recognized brand and buoyed by India's fast-growing consumer appliance market, is expected to boost confidence in upcoming issues across the consumer and manufacturing sectors.