The government is likely to soon decide on permitting Indian companies to list their equity shares overseas, according to an official.
Apart from providing an additional fundraising avenue for the corporates looking to expand and boost their business activities, the overseas listing of shares would also help in bringing more capital into the country.
The official said many companies are interested in listing their equity shares in foreign countries.
Currently, quite a few Indian companies have American Depository Receipts (ADRs) that are traded in the US. Some other corporates have their Global Depository Receipts (GDRs).
The official said the corporate affairs ministry and markets regulator SEBI are in favour of allowing Indian companies to list their equity shares in foreign countries. Other departments and regulators are also expected to be on board, the official added.
A decision is likely soon, the official said, adding that changes would need to be done in the companies law and SEBI regulations for permitting listing of domestic companies overseas.
Further, the official said that only public companies are likely to be permitted overseas listing of equity shares.
Under the Companies Act, public companies should have at least seven shareholders and have no restriction on transferability of their shares, among other criteria.
A depository receipt is a foreign currency-denominated instrument, listed on an international exchange, issued by a foreign depository to a domestic custodian and includes GDRs.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.