Indian companies urged to list on Singapore stock exchange

Our Corporate Bureau

New Delhi, Oct 14: Indian companies should consider listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SSE) and raise capital through the bond market there, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Tharman Shanmugaratnam said.

Addressing a meeting between senior MAS officials and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) CEOs delegation, Mr Shanmugaratnam said that he is aware of the aspirations of Indian companies to be listed on the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and added that the SSE was not in competition with them.

“However, those Indian companies that are not ready for NYSE and NASDAQ can get themselves listed on the SSE,” he said.

By tapping the Singapore bond market, Indian companies could diversify their financial portfolio, he said expressing his hope that a critical mass of Indian companies may be listed on the SSE.

He was addressing CII delegates led by its president Sanjiv Goenka in Singapore on Friday. The MAS is the financial services, capital market and banking regulatory body of Singapore.

Mr Shanmugaratnam said, Singapore will even consider specific time bound incentive packages to attract Indian companies.

Singapore will also like to work with India-based investment bankers, accountancy firms and other organisations to promote the financial services market, he said. Most of the Indian CEOs present at the meeting endorsed Mr Shanmugaratnam’s suggestion, CII said in a statement.

Singapore will continue to deregulate its financial sector. Retail banking and the current restrictions will be removed over time, Mr Shanmugaratnam said.

Citing the small size of Singapore, he said his country will be outward looking and will be useful for the rest of the world and create a neutral and trusted environment, Mr Shanmugaratnam added.
The Indian CEOs present at the meeting said, several Indian companies, particularly in the financial services and the IT sector, are interested in making Singapore a regional hub for accessing Chinese, Australian, Japanese and other Asia Pacific markets.