MUMBAI: The top 500 private sector companies are bigger than the national GDP commanding a cumulative value of Rs 324 trillion or $3.8 trillion in 2023-2024, while the economy was only $3.5 trillion, states a research report by Hurun India.
According to Hurun India’s most valuable private sector companies' list for 2024 released on Tuesday, these 500 companies’ value grew 40% over 2023 to $3.8 trillion and not just bigger than our national GDP but is also bigger than the combined GDP values of the UAE, Indonesia, and Spain.
The report said, the qualification threshold for the list was Rs 9,580 crore, which is a 43% increase from the 2023 threshold of Rs 6,700 crore.
For the first time, all the companies in the 2024 list are worth at least $1 billion despite a steeply depreciated rupee.
“The companies from the 2024 list make up the backbone of the nation’s private sector, wielding significant economic influence. Between them, they have a cumulative valuation of $3.8 trillion, which is higher than the national GDP, and employ 8.4 million. If you want to understand how the economy is developing, understanding the stories behind the 2024 most valuable companies list, is a great place to start with,” Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, said while releasing the list.
With a value of Rs 17.52 trillion, which is more than 12% over 2023 valuation, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries is the country’s most valuable company, followed by Tata Consultancy Services at Rs 16.1 trillion, up 30%, and HDFC Bank at Rs 14.2 trillion, up 26%, he said.
The next in the list are Bharti Airtel (Rs 9.74 trillion), ICICI Bank (Rs 9.30 trillion), Infosys (Rs 7.99 trillion), ITC (Rs 5.80 trillion), L&T (Rs 5.42 trillion), HCL Tech (Rs 1.18 trillion) and NSE (Rs 4.7 trillion).
Among the other notable gainers in the list are Motilal Oswal Financial Services that lead the 2024 list as the fastest-growing company with a value growth of 297%, followed closely by Inox Wind and Zepto, both nearly tripling their valuations over the year.
Nearly 60% of the companies in the list do not appear in the Fortune India 500, which is ranked by revenue. The Hurun list prioritizes future profit potential over current sales and does not include state-owned enterprises. If included over 100 state-owned companies could have made into the list, such as SBI which is valued over Rs 7.7 trillion LIC, NTPC, ONGC etc.
For the first time, Bharti Airtel enters the top five with an Rs 9.74 trillion valuation, a 75%; the National Stock Exchange , valued at Rs 4.7 trillion also is in the top 10 list for the first time.
"The NSE surged by 201% value to Rs 4.7 trillion, overtaking SII, to emerge as the most valued unlisted company. Logistics startup Zepto (269%), the NSE (201%), and Physics Wallah (172%) top the value growth in percentage among unlisted companies," the report said.