The Hindu Business Line : `10 firms keen on Nasdaq listing'

ABOUT 10 Indian corporates are being billed by the Nasdaq Stock Market as potential listing candidates. These entities, which represent a range of sectors, are expected to consider a Nasdaq listing over the next one year.

The US exchange, which is fervently trying to shed its image as a bourse predominantly for technology stocks, has been in dialogue with a number of domestic companies, a few of which have expressed more than a passing interest in listing.

Roughly 10 are likely to weigh the proposal more actively.

Mr Ghanshyam Dass, MD - Asia, Nasdaq, said sectors such as representing IT, pharma and auto may well throw up listing candidates in the near future. Many managements operating in these spheres pursue pragmatic policies, he added.

Nasdaq, however, has informed that it cannot provide more concrete information on the subject at this juncture. The names of the candidates, too, are not being announced. The exchange is generally aware that a number of local companies have become US GAAP compliant in recent years, a trend that is being hailed as very positive by observers.

Nasdaq is also vigilant on this front and efforts are on to attract companies.

"Companies are firming up plans to upgrade themselves on a major front - visibility. An overseas listing is important from this angle. Company managements are increasingly becoming aware of the need to access overseas capital markets," Mr Dass told reporters on Tuesday.

It may be mentioned here that Nasdaq claims to be the "market of choice" for professional and institutional investors, especially because it offers ongoing liquidity and reasonable processing costs. Besides, deliveries are said to be efficiently conducted through a transparent mechanism.

It is also claimed that trading in Nasdaq listed stocks has less impact on the price than their NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) peers. Further, the former are said to require a higher volume and value of stocks traded to move the price by one per cent!

As things stand, three Indian companies are listed on it - Infosys, Sify and Rediff.com. While it is not known whether other technology companies will join the list, it is pointed out that India ranks well behind other Asian majors (such as China and Japan) in terms of listings. China and Japan have thrown up 14 and 18 Nasdaq listings respectively. Nine more are expected to come up from the Asia-Pacific region.

Pharma companies, Mr Dass noted, are particularly looking at overseas listing, especially because of the need to improve their visibility. Many Indian pharma companies are heavily into foreign markets - a trend that requires them to find a berth in well-recognised capital markets.