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Technology Stocks : Infosys: First Indian Company on NASDAQ -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (5)	3/9/1999 7:10:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 67

ANALYSIS-India Infosys set for historic US listing Tuesday March 9, 7:48 am Eastern Time By Y.P. Rajesh BANGALORE, India, March 9 (Reuters) - Infosys Technologies Ltd will blaze a trail for other Indian firms to follow when it lists on the U.S. Nasdaq exchange later this week, technology industry experts said on Tuesday. But analysts said Infosys' new status, when it becomes the first Indian firm to debut on the technology-rich exchange on Thursday, will also place a heavy responsibility on the software and services firm. Girish Paranjpe, vice-president for finance at diversified computer and software group Wipro Ltd , described Infosys' listing as historic. ''This will create the pathway and encourage several other companies, especially infotech and pharmaceutical companies, to work towards listing on major international bourses,'' he said. Infosys is considered a leading share on India's stock exchanges and its strong performance has played a major role in a rally that followed the February 27 announcement of the country's budget for the fiscal year to March 2000. Infosys listed in June 1993, with shares issued at a nominal value of 10 rupees, but opened trading at around 158 rupees each. Infosys' strong results and positive industry sentiment sparked a rally in the stock weeks before the budget. Between December 31, 1998 and February 26 (the day before the budget), Infosys rose 83 percent to 2,708 rupees. By contrast, over the same period, the Bombay 30-share index rose six percent. Infosys has kept pace with the post-budget boom as well. Infosys rose nearly 19 percent in the period from February 26 onward to hit a day's high of 3,222 on Tuesday, against the 30-share Bombay index's corresponding rise of 17 percent. Infosys went on a roadshow in the United States last month to sell 1.8 million American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) with each ADR representing half a share of common stock. ''It (the ADR) is a highly significant milestone for the country,'' said Pradeep Kar, chairman of Microland Ltd, a leading Indian infotech company. ''The listing will help Infosys grow globally as it will be able to acquire companies abroad,'' he said. ''Globally, acquisitions are done through stock swaps and the listing will allow Infosys to do that.'' M. Chandrashekaran, corporate adviser at Silicon Automation Systems, a design software maker, said Infosys had led the way in establishing new standards of corporate governance and transparency in the Indian software industry. Infosys would be keenly watched by aspirants seeking to emulate its performance, he said. ''Infosys will carry a great burden of expectations riding on them,'' he said. ''Companies listed on exchanges like the Nasdaq are under a magnifying glass all the time and more so if it is the first from a country,'' Chandrashekaran said. ''The issue is therefore not just of listing but that of post-listing performance. In that sense it is an enormously courageous step by Infosys,'' he said. B.V. Naidu, director of the Bangalore unit of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), said Infosys' listing would boost global investor confidence in Indian companies. ($1 equals 42.5 rupees) Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (5)	3/9/1999 7:15:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 67

Anyone else planning to buy a few shares on the 1st day and put them away for a long hold?

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (5)	3/9/1999 7:16:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67

1/28/99 article. India Infosys eyes Nasdaq listing By Reuters Special to CNET News.com January 28, 1999, 7:15 a.m. PT Indian computer software and services company Infosys Technologies said today that it was ready to become the first Indian firm to list on Nasdaq, but was waiting for the right time. "We are waiting for the markets to improve. Everything is ready on our side," Infosys CEO N.R. Narayana Murthy told Reuters at an international software conference. "Our desire is to do it [the listing] as early as possible. Whether it is going to be next month, next quarter, or two quarters down the line, it is difficult for me to say," he added. Infosys, encouraged by booming exports of software and services and skyrocketing technology stock prices, plans to raise as much as $125 million from an initial public offering in the United States through an offering of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). In the process, it will become the first Indian firm to list on Nasdaq. Analysts expect at least two more Indian technology firms to follow Infosys to U.S. stock exchanges in 1999. Narayana Murthy said the U.S. listing would help Infosys raise funds to start out on the road to become a global company. "It is very important to list on global exchanges to attract high-quality manpower from the local market. Microsoft has 34 percent of its equity subscribed to stock options. About $50 million of the funds raised from ADRs would be for employee stock options," he said. He said the IPO would also fund the requirements of Infosys to replicate the systems and infrastructure of its international clients in India. It could also eventually fund acquisitions overseas. "As corporations grow and move towards the offshore software model, it becomes more expensive for us to replicate their systems and infrastructure in India. We spend $14,120 per new employee at present, and once the capital requirements become larger, I don't think India can meet that requirement," he said. Infosys hires between 800 and 900 new employees each year. Speaking of expected revenue growth, Narayana Murthy said he expected the company to grow at the same rate as the industry as a whole over the next several years. "I expect the industry to grow at between 35 to 40 percent over the next several years. We are a conservative company, and we expect to grow at industry compatible growth rates," he said. The firm's net profit in the nine months to December 31, 1998 more than doubled from the same period in 1997, reaching $22 million. Sales in April-December 1998 shot up to 3.6 billion rupees from 1.8 billion rupees in April-December 1997. Narayana Murthy said most of Infosys's growth would continue to come from the development of customised software, but the firm was stepping into Internet and intranet applications, enterprise resource planning software, electronic commerce, and euro conversion software. He said the firm did not need to be in software products to sustain high growth. "We don't need to be in the product market. The world market for software services is between $25 billion to $30 billion each year. India is just some 10 percent of that, so there is tremendous opportunity for growth." India's software exports in 1997/98 (April-March) stood at $1.75 billion. The National Association for Software and Services Companies, the apex body for India's software industry, expects exports in 1998/99 to touch $2.7 billion. Story Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.