**Why India’s Largest Oil Producer Has a Lower Market Cap Than Zomato**
*By Dwaipayan Roy | Oct 12, 2025, 06:21 PM*
India’s biggest oil and gas producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is currently perceived as undervalued by the market. Despite boasting a market capitalization of around ₹3.1 lakh crore, ONGC trails behind companies like food delivery giant Zomato in terms of market value.
### Understanding the Market Discrepancy
One of the main reasons for this disparity is that over one-third of ONGC’s market capitalization comes from its stakes in subsidiaries and minority investments, which the market has not fully factored in.
### Market Cap Growth Comparison
Looking back over the last 13 years, ONGC’s market capitalization has grown by only about 26%. This growth is modest compared to other major Indian companies. For example:
– **Reliance Industries**: Its valuation surged from ₹2.43 lakh crore in July 2012 to ₹18.7 lakh crore today.
– **Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)**: Grew from ₹2.42 lakh crore in 2012 to ₹10.95 lakh crore now.
### ONGC’s Diverse Portfolio
ONGC holds significant stakes in various subsidiaries and minority investments, including:
– **Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL)**: 71.63% stake valued at over ₹18,000 crore.
– **Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)**: 54.9% stake worth approximately ₹52,770 crore.
Alongside these, ONGC also has minority stakes in:
– **Indian Oil Corporation**: 14.20% stake valued at around ₹31,000 crore.
– **GAIL (India) Ltd**: 5% stake worth about ₹5,900 crore.
The total value of ONGC’s stakes in subsidiaries and minority investments exceeds ₹1.07 lakh crore, which is more than a third of its current market capitalization.
### The Minister’s Take on PSU Valuations
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently expressed concern about the undervaluation of state-owned oil public sector undertakings (PSUs). He highlighted a “perception bias” among investors that undervalues these profitable and economically significant entities.
The Minister underscored the robust performance of oil marketing companies, noting that Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum together generated a combined profit of ₹2.5 lakh crore over the past six years.
### Conclusion
While ONGC remains India’s largest oil and gas producer with a strong asset base and profitable subsidiaries, the market continues to undervalue its true worth. This disparity underscores investor perception challenges faced by public sector enterprises compared to fast-growing private sector companies like Zomato.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/ongc-s-market-cap-growth-lags-behind-peers/story