India INX to open doors for GDR listing

India International Exchange (IFSC) Ltd (India INX is gearing up to start trading equity asset class through depository receipts, a top official has said.

With the IFSCA as regulator for Gift City now prescribing the framework for listing of depository receipts (DRs), Indian issuers can directly come to India INX to raise money from foreign investors, V Balasubramaniam, MD & CEO of India INX told BusinessLine .

Also, an existing listed Indian company can look to raise additional money through Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) that primarily targets foreign investors and list the GDRs in India INX, he said. Currently, India INX provides both equity derivatives and index derivatives besides commodity and currency derivatives.

“We are gearing up for listing Depository Receipts. We want to call them as Global Depository Receipts. We have also requested IFSCA as to whether some of existing GDRs issued by Indian companies and being traded in overseas bourses can be admitted to trade in our exchange in Gift City as ‘permitted securities’. We will get to know this very soon,” Balasubramaniam said.

He said that India INX is “very determined” and “bullish” about growth story in IFSC (Gift City).

“In the next six months, we will consolidate and continue to launch a lot of products. Apart from derivatives, we also need to have a lot of investment products,” Balasubramaniam said.

Listing of AIFs

Balasubramanian said he has suggested to SEBI and IFSCA that the investment vehicles around Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs) be allowed to list in India INX. This will ensure that funds need not be dismantled if a new investor wants to enter the scene.

“Because there is no capital gain in IFSC, one investor can move out and another can come in. There is so much cost involved in creating one fund or dismantling a fund. That can be avoided if such AIFs are listed in India INX . This listing of AIF’s can’t be done in India but can very well be done in IFSC (Gift City),” he said.

REITs IN IFSCs

Balasubramaniam said India INX was looking to position itself as a hub for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) through Indianand foreign REITs. Now that IFSCA has set out broad regulatory framework for REITs in IFSCs, India INX has framed detailed guidelines and sent it to IFSCA for approval, he said.

“There is potential for REITs to grow. Most Indian real estate companies are going to get capital only from foreign investors and foreign investors may want to do it more in IFSC and we can cater to them. I want everyone to come and list. We will be more aggressive than what is being allowed in India. REITs in India can do dual listing. We will try to get foreign REITs listed,” he said.

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