NYSE, Nasdaq pitch for Indian listings
Friday February 4, 4:36 am Eastern Time
By Umesh Desai
BOMBAY, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), enthused by the U.S. stockmarket debuts of three Indian companies last year, are campaigning hard to attract more listings from India.
Asia-Pacific director for Nasdaq International Patrick Sutch and managing director Charles Balfour were in Bombay this week, as was rival James Shapiro, senior managing director of NYSE Asia-Pacific, to attend a software conference humming with potential candidates for U.S. listings.
Information technology (IT) companies are everybody's darlings, Sutch told Reuters Television on Friday.
But other companies -- in pharmaceuticals, bio-technology, IT-smart banking, distribution and private healthcare -- would also win U.S. investors' hearts, he said.
The roaring success of blue-chip software firm Infosys Technologies Ltd's (NasdaqNM:INFY - news) debut on the Nasdaq last March has whetted U.S. appetites and shown Indian companies the way to go -- especially to raise capital for acquisitions.
Internet firm Satyam Infoway (NasdaqNM:SIFY - news), a subsidiary of India's Satyam Computer Services followed in October.
Both these companies feature in the top quartile of companies by market capitalisation at the Nasdaq, said Balfour.
INDIAN FIRMS HEAD FOR NYSE TOO
Financial services firm ICICI Ltd (NYSE:ICd - news), which listed in September, is the only Indian company listed so far on the NYSE.
But it will be joined in March by state-controlled Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) , which provides telephone services in Bombay and Delhi.
Analysts said Internet portal Rediff.com was eyeing a Nasdaq listing around March while Zee Telefilms also had a U.S. listing plan.
Around seven Indian companies were likely to list on the Nasdaq in the year 2000, Sutch said.
Shapiro said the Indian companies with U.S. listing plans had the option of listing on the NYSE since they were not start-ups.
``Most Indian companies which come to the U.S. are not start-ups but have established businesses and names... NYSE will position itself as a market for global companies, companies which have a global investor base and global operations,' he said.
Shapiro said the NYSE gave its investors the advantage of the lowest transaction costs.
``We have enough investors to create an auction house environment. You don't need a broker and that's the beauty of NYSE...trading costs at NYSE are roughly about half of what they are at Nasdaq,' said Shapiro.
Overseas listings can aim to tap the enormous wealth accumulated by Indians living abroad. Independent estimates put non-resident Indians' total wealth around $100 billion, of which $50 billion is in the United States alone.
U.S. investors are also highly attuned to where the growth industries are, which is why American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) can command whopping premiums over the domestic share price.
India's profile will be raised even higher when President Bill Clinton visits in late March, the first by a U.S. president since Jimmy Carter and one with a strong emphasis on economic ties.
Nasdaq officials, expecting more business in India, are dangling higher potential valuations before firms.
``What do our investors want to invest in? A chemical company, cement or property? Probably not. What's savvy is technology, telecom, media, pharmaceuticals and bio-tech,' Sutch said.
``We are looking not at the traditional industry sectors because I don't think they are going to get any different valuations than they do back in their own market.' |
