Recently, food delivery app Zomato's shares nearly doubled in debut trading in the first stock market listing of an Indian startup, which was valued at more than $1 billion. The stellar debut, which was four days ahead of schedule, was based on investor interest in internet-based consumer startups that are expected to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it comes at a time when India's stock market is near all-time highs.

Shares rose 82.8 percent after opening at 116 rupees in pre-open trade, a 52.6 percent premium to the IPO price of 76, valuing the company at about $12 billion. Zomato's 93.75 billion rupee IPO, backed by China's Ant Group, is the first for a startup in India's food delivery market, with research firm RedSeer estimating its value at $4.2 billion.

The home-grown food aggregator, which debuted in 2008, operates in approximately 525 Indian cities and has partnered with nearly 390,000 restaurants. It delivers food to customers' homes, allows them to reserve tables for dining in, and compiles restaurant reviews, making it a competitor to SoftBank-backed Swiggy and Amazon.com's food delivery service.
The company's initial public offering last week was more than 38 times oversubscribed, with large institutional investors also placing large bets.

According to Danni Hewson, a financial analyst at AJ Bell, an investment platform in England, "The key word here is expansion. Zomato may not be profitable, but it is growing at a rapid pace and is well positioned to maintain that momentum."

Zomato's loss for the fiscal year ended March 31 fell to 8.13 billion rupees, while revenue from operations decreased slightly year on year to 19.94 billion rupees.