At over 365 billion, TATA group surpasses entire GDP of Pakistan

The combined market value of TATA group companies has crossed Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reported an Indian media agency.

The report highlighted how listed companies of salt to software conglomerate have given stellar returns in one year on the stock market, adding that their combined value is now more than the entire economy of Pakistan, which continues to struggle with high levels of inflation and debt.

As per the report, the TATA Groups total market capitalization stands at around USD 365billion over Rs 30 lakh crores. This is higher than Pakistan’s entire GDP, estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at around USD 341 billion.

Of all the listed TATA group businesses, the IT major TATA Consultancy Services is its crown jewel with a market capitalization of nearly Rs 15 lakh crore of USD170 billion dollars. Going by IMF estimates TCS alone is half the size of Pakistan cash-strapped and debt-ridden economy.

While all the TATA Group Companies have contributed to the surge in conglomerates total market value, thr biggest contribution has come in form of multi-bagger returns in TATA Motors and Trent.

TATA motors share has surged 110 percent in just a year, while the Trent has gained a whopping 200 percent. This has been in addition to the healthy performance of stocks such as TATA technologies TRF, Benares Hotels, TATA Investment Corporation, the TATA Motors, the Automobile Corporation of Goa and Artson Engineering.

It is worth mentioning that the TATA group has at least 25 companies listing on the stock exchanges and only one of them TATA Chemicals is down five percent in a year according to ACE Equidity quoted in the Indian media agency quoted by a media agency. But these are just the listed companies of the conglomerate. There are several unlisted companies under the TATA Group, including TATA Sons, TATA Capital, TATA Play, TATA Advanced Systems and Air India.

If these businesses are considered, then the total market capitalization of TATA Group would see a substantial rise. To provide some context, the TATA Capital which reportedly plans to launch its IPO next year commands a valuation of roughly Rs 2.7 lakh crores on the unlisted market.

While the combined valuation has the firepower to easily make it to largest conglomerate in terms of market capitalization, it is worth noting that the group is professionally managed, is largely owned by philanthropic trusts and does not have an individual promoter. It may be noted that Ratan TATA owns less than one percent stakes in TATA Sons.

It is no secret that Pakistan has been undergoing thorough its worst economic crisis history after facing a series of setbacks in the financial year 2023. The country is grappling with external debt and liabilities amounting upto USD 125 billion starting from July. Additionally, Pakistan’s three billion IMF program is set to expire next month adding to its financial challenges.

With foreign exchange reserves hovering around just 8 billion USD, Pakistan’s ability to cover essential imports is just limited to two months. Furthermore, its debt to GDP ratio has crossed 70 percent raising concerns among credit rating agencies about the sustainability of interests’ payments, which could consume half of the governments revenues this year.

In sharp contrast, Indian economy at USD 3.7 trillion is approximately eleven times bigger than the size of Pakistan’s economy and is predicted to become the third largest economy in the world by financial year 2028. As of now, India is the fifth-largest economy in the world.