Expert Committee for listing of equity share capital of companies incorporated in India on foreign exchanges and vice versa

Expert Committee for listing of equity share capital of companies incorporated in India on foreign exchanges and vice versa

Companies incorporated in India can today list their debt securities on international exchanges (Masala Bonds) but their equity share capital can be listed abroad only through the ADR / GDR route. Similarly, companies incorporated outside India can access the Indian capital markets only through the IDR route. Thus, presently, direct listing of equity share capital of companies incorporated in India is not permitted on foreign exchanges and vice versa.

Considering the evolution and internationalization of the Capital Markets, it would be worthwhile to consider facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity share capital abroad and vice versa. In this regard, it has been decided to constitute an Expert Committee to look into this aspect in detail.

The broad Terms of Reference of the Committee would be to –

• Examine in detail the economic case for permitting direct listing of Indian companies overseas and vice versa;
• Examine various legal, operational and regulatory constraints in facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity share capital abroad and vice versa; and 
• Make recommendations for a suitable framework in which to facilitate such direct listing.
   

The composition of the expert committee is as under: