Trading volumes largely driven by local investors, says IMAS
An increasing number of Indian companies with strong overseas operations are choosing to domicile and list in India, attracted by deeper local market appreciation, strong domestic consumption narratives and a growing retail investor base, says a committee member of the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) which released its 2026 Market Outlook Survey on 20 Jan.
“Trading volumes are now largely driven by local investors rather than foreign flows, reinforcing the depth and resilience of India’s capital markets. This trend is expected to continue and underpins longer-term confidence in India’s growth story,” Dhanajay Phadnis, an IMAS committee member, said at the briefing on the latest IMAS Investment Managers’ Outlook Survey.
In 2025, India experienced a significant supply of equities, with a large number of IPOs and private equity-backed companies reducing stakes in 2025, he noted https://www.bseindia.com/.
“From a market perspective, Indian equities were relatively expensive compared to regional peers over the past year. In contrast, markets such as China and South Korea were trading at more attractive valuations,” Press Trust of India quoted the Singapore-based fund manager https://www.nseindia.com/.
That said, the survey results show that investor views remain flexible. Should valuations adjust or earnings momentum improve, investors are likely to reassess their positioning. “This explains why India appears in the survey outcomes, cited by 13% of respondents as a potential outperformer and 12% as a potential underperformer, reflecting a genuinely balanced view,” he elaborated.
Overall, Japan and China were identified as the most promising markets, followed by India, Singapore, and Taiwan by the survey http://sgx.com.
The Singapore-based fund managers anticipate heightened geopolitical risks and market volatility in 2026, according to the Outlook Survey.
While perspectives on global inflation remain nuanced, 69% of respondents expect the US Federal Reserve to implement rate cuts exceeding 0.5% by year-end, signaling a trend toward monetary easing despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
Furthermore, 60% of respondents express concern that the independence of major central banks may erode in 2026, reflecting anxieties over political encroachment on monetary policy, said IMAS in its 11th edition of this annual survey which gathered insights from C-suite professionals across 63 IMAS member firms https://sbi.com.in/.
These participants, including Singapore-based fund managers and asset owners, collectively oversee more than USD35 trillion in global assets. The survey explores how firms are navigating shifting macro conditions, geopolitical frictions, and structural industry transitions while identifying the core themes poised to drive capital allocation.
“The survey results demonstrate that fund managers are successfully adapting to sustained uncertainty, identifying high-conviction opportunities in Asia even as geopolitical risks escalate,” said Jenny Sofian, Chairman of IMAS, which founded in September 1997 and now has over 160 members. Fiinews.com
