NYSE may double listing of Indian cos in two years

Our Corporate Bureau

New Delhi, Dec 3: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is looking to double the listing of Indian companies from the current level of nine companies to 18 over the next two years.

Discussions are on with a number of companies from diverse industries, which are likely to list on the NYSE. Listing of companies like Nalco, Reliance and Silverline will be coming up over the next few months.

The interest of getting listed in the US is still growing. Even in the post-September 11 scenario, none of the Indian companies has dropped its plan to get listed on the NYSE.

Speaking to The Financial Express, George Ugeux, group executive vice-president, New York Stock Exchange, US said that the investors in the US are very comfortable with the conversion of accounts into the US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (USGAAP) by a number of Indian companies.

He said that we are fortunate to list Indian companies on the NYSE and trade in them. On an average, $2.5-3 billion worth of shares of Indian companies are traded every year. But the float is expected to grow in future, he said.

There are obviously concerns about the rupee and regulation of forex and there is a need for better fungibility.

He said that stocks like Wipro, Dr Reddy’s, Infosys and HDFC Bank have been attracting heavy volumes on the exchange and have been among the most actives.