Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) has emerged as the most valuable listed firm, a list released on Thursday said. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HDFC Bank came at second and third position, respectively. In the '2022 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 Top 10' list, companies, on an average, were worth a total of Rs 226 lakh crore ($2.7 trillion).
Reliance is valued at Rs 17.25 lakh crore, nearly 6 lakh crore more than TCS which is valued at Rs 11.68 lakh crore, according to the second edition of the list of 500 most valuable companies in India, while HDFC Bank was valued at Rs 8.33 lakh crore, it added.
Other companies that featured in the top 10 list are Infosys, which bagged number four position, with a value of Rs 6.46 lakh crore, ICICI Bank at Rs 6.33 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel at Rs 4.89 lakh crore, Housing Development Finance Corporation Rs 4.48 lakh crore, ITC at Rs 4.32 lakh crore, Adani Total Gas at Rs 3.96 lakh crore, and Adani Enterprises at Rs 3.81 lakh crore.
According to a report by the PTI, to make it to the '2022 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500' list, companies were required to have a minimum value of Rs 6,000 crore, equivalent to $725 million.
Axis Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry said, “The 2nd edition of the Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 report, featuring India's 500 most valuable companies, could not have come at a better time. From a 'rare bright spot,' when most world economies are staring at a slowdown, India is slated to be entering its decade of eminence. Indian companies and their leadership deserve great acclamation for their contribution to the country's unique positioning today, and they will play an even bigger role in making India the world's third-largest economy over the next decade.”
The top line of these 500 companies is equivalent to 29 per cent of India's GDP, and they employ up to 1.5 per cent of the country's total workforce.
"What stood out in the report is that 67 companies on the list are younger than 10 years. These new-age companies will indeed shape the coming decade with their entrepreneurship, technology and digital innovations," he added.
According to the report, the sectors that enjoyed strong growth are energy, retail, hospitality, and consumer goods. The software and services sector was the hardest hit and cumulatively lost Rs 6 lakh crore over last year, the report pointed out.
“On the back of inflation and looming recession, Indian IT outsourcing companies are expected to go slow on closing big-ticket deals,” Hurun India MD and Chief Researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said.
He said the medical diagnostics sector, which enjoyed very high growth during Covid-19 on the back of testing mandates, reversed gains, and shed around Rs 13,000 crore in value.
"Gautam Adani has launched 7 companies to the list and has acquired the 8th - Ambuja Cements. Perhaps it is not surprising that he is the richest person on the subcontinent. The others include N Chandrasekaran who chairs Tata Sons that added six companies to the list and Sanjeev Goenka and Kumar Mangalam Birla who have added three each to the list," he said.
Further, he said, some of the biggest value shedders in the latest list are start-ups such as Policy Bazaar, Paytm, Zomato, and Nykaa, which lost 68 per cent, 59 per cent, 50 per cent, and 48 per cent, respectively in value since last year.
This trend is a clear indication that start-up valuations based on "2021 parameters" in private markets are up for a bumpy ride, Junaid observed.
Mumbai, home to 32 per cent of the India 500 with 159 companies, and 48 per cent or Rs 108 lakh crore of the total value, significantly ahead of second-placed Bengaluru with 63 companies, representing 11 per cent of the total value, the report said.
The report said women make up 16 per cent of the boards of these companies. "The 2022 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 are some of the biggest employers of women in the country led by Tata Consultancy Services with about 2.1 lakh women employees," Junaid added.