The Ministry of Finance has amended Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 and notified the ‘Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme’. Simultaneously, Ministry of Corporate Affairs also notified Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024.
Jointly, these allow direct listing of securities by Indian public companies on International Exchanges of the GIFT IFSC. The framework also allows unlisted public Indian companies to list their shares on an international exchange. SEBI is in the process of issuing operational guidelines for listed public Indian companies.
Certain key aspects are as given below:
- The company intending to issue such shares can be a company not yet listed in India. Shareholders of such a company can also make an offer for sale;
- Only non-residents will be permitted to invest;
- The offering (fresh issue or offer for sale by existing shareholders) is subject to FPI investment limits;
- The offering is subject to prohibited sectors / sectoral guidelines;
- Pricing guidelines, as applicable, will also apply.
While the operational guidelines in relation to direct listing of equity shares of Indian companies on an international exchange scheme are awaited, the notifications are issued on a positive note, providing global access of capital in a regulated manner.
For detailed discussion on above notifications, please feel free to contact devadhaantu@devadhaantu.in
