Standard Chartered Bank on Wednesday said it is planning to raise $500 million to $1 billion by June through Indian Depository Receipts (IDR). The IDRs would be issued by its parent company Standard Chartered PLC.
?We remain keen to pursue our intent to have an IDR offering. We are looking at the second quarter (April-June 2010) and we are looking at $500 million to $1 billion,? said Neeraj Swaroop, chief executive (India & South Asia) of Standard Chartered Bank.
StanChart plans to file the draft red herring prospectus with Sebi towards the end of March, Swaroop had earlier said. The bank?s operating profit from India operations surged 19% to $1.06 billion for the year ended December, making it the first foreign bank in the country to cross $1 billion in operating profit.
Just like American Depository Receipts, which many Indian companies have issued in the US, IDRs enable a foreign company to raise resources from Indian residents who cannot directly buy its shares locally. IDRs are derivative instruments that derive their value from the shares deposited with custodians. The foreign companies deposit shares with a custodian, who in turn issues depository receipts based on the underlying shares.