India fourth with 73 firms in FT 500 list of high-growth companies in Asia-Pacific

While technology companies are still the high-growth drivers in the Asia-Pacific, fewer Indian companies are making the impact than a year earlier, according to the Financial Times’ (FT) ranking of 500 flourishing companies in the region for 2023.

FT’s High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2023 list shows that India is ranked at fourth, with the first three places taken by Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, respectively. While 73 companies from India made it to the list, 136 were from Japan, 78 from South Korea, and 75 from Singapore.

The FT 500 list for 2023 shows Tokyo as the leading city with 82 companies, followed by Singapore with 75 and Seoul at 60.

Of the top 50 rankings, seven of them were Indian companies. The majority of Indian firms are from the technology sector or are tech-enabled entities.

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Waste management company Recykal ranked sixth on the list—the highest-ranking firm from India. Meanwhile, the airline business Star Air, which was founded in 1995, placed 10th in the overall ranking.

This list also includes companies such as M2P Fintech, SafeGold, Skillmatics, Vivriti Capital, Wakefit, and iThink Logistics.

In contrast, last year, 97 companies from India were featured on the list, with the country taking the second spot. Again, Japan had topped the list with 168 companies, with Singapore and Australia at 61 each.

The drop in ranking raises concern about how the country will continue to attract foreign capital as it aims to remain one of the fastest-growing economies. The IMF, in its economic forecast for 2024, projected 6.8% real GDP growth for India—the joint second-highest along with Vietnam, among all Asian emerging economies.

Most of the companies were founded around 2015, however, there are a few exceptions like Star Air. Companies established in 2014 and after qualify as startups.

India is regarded as the third largest startup globally after the US and China. It has over 100 startups which are in the unicorn category out of the estimated 75,000 such entities in the country.

However, the present funding winter environment has had its bearing on the Indian startup ecosystem as there is a considerable slowdown in the money coming into these companies, especially into the late-stage category.