The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted an expert committee to examine allowing unlisted Indian companies to do a direct equity listing overseas while also allowing overseas companies to list directly on the Indian bourses.
“Considering the evolution and internationalisation of the capital markets, it would be worthwhile to consider facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity share capital abroad and vice versa,” said a statement from the capital market regulator.
The nine-member expert committee will comprise Ranu Vohra, managing director & chief executive officer, Avendus Capital; Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Kamal Yadav, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley and S. Ramesh, Managing Director & CEO, Kotak Investment Banking; Deep Kalra, Chairman, MakeMyTrip.com and Jamil Khatri, KPMG among others.
Currently, Indian companies can only use the depository receipts route – American Depository Receipts (ADR) or Global Depository Receipts (GDR) - to list on the overseas exchanges. For foreign companies wanting to list on Indian exchanges, Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) is the only route available currently.
“Companies incorporated in India can today list their debt securities on international exchanges (Masala Bonds) but their equity share capital can be listed abroad only through the ADR / GDR route. Similarly, companies incorporated outside India can access the Indian capital markets only through the IDR route,” highlighted the SEBI statement.