Private equity investments in the January-March period of this year totalled to USD 2.8 billion in value terms across 130 deals, registering 15 per cent jump over last year, says a report.
According to the PwC MoneyTree India report, a quarterly study of private equity investment activity based on data provided by Venture Intelligence, PE deal value in the first quarter of this year surged by 15 per cent over last year when 144 deals worth USD 2.42 billion were announced.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, the deal value declined 37 per cent as the October to December 2014 quarter saw USD 4.39 billion through 117 deals.
"Recent IMF and World Bank projections that the Indian economy will grow faster than China this year, and in the next few years, is expected to boost investor sentiment and should result in higher allocations for India," PwC India Private Equity leader Sanjeev Krishan said.
Krishan added that the deal momentum is expected to gather pace on improving domestic corporate earnings and favourable macros like a declining interest rate and continued low inflation environment.
A sector-wise analysis shows that banking and financial sector (BFSI) topped the list with USD 891 million in 14 deals, followed by the IT/ITeS sector in the second place.
The IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector attracted USD 836 million investment in 71 deals.
"The 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' campaigns have significantly boosted overall market prospects and investor sentiment.
"Growing demand for IT from the small and medium-sized businesses segment, especially in emerging markets, has also fueled growth," PwC India Technology leader Sandeep Ladda said.
Among others, healthcare and lifesciences sectors witnessed USD 392 million worth of investments in just 9 deals, while energy sector witnessed transactions worth USD 207 million.
City-wise, Bangalore emerged as the dearest investment destination with USD 715 million in 35 deals, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) (USD 691 million in 33 deals), Mumbai (USD 623 million in 26 deals) and Kolkata (USD 351 million in 4 deals), the report added.
