Central bank softens merger terms
Corporates plug into Gecko money
Selling the index takes on new meaning
If there's action going on far-sighted Indian companies don't want to miss out. Internet mania on Wall Street has prompted several Indian IT companies to join the party with their own US listings.
On October 19, Satyam Infoway, an unlisted Indian internet service provider, made what Reuters called a "red-hot debut" on Nasdaq. The price of its American depositary receipts (ADRs), sold at $18 apiece in an initial $75 million offering, doubled on listing and traded at $40 on October 21. Last March, Infosys, India's leading software services company floated on Nasdaq, the first Indian company to list in the US. Its ADRs traded at $145 in late October, over four times the price they fetched nine months earlier. And its not just IT companies that have been bitten by the Wall Street bug. On September 22, ICICI, the second largest Indian development bank, sold $315 million worth of ADRs, becoming the first Indian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
Says Vaman Kamath, ICICI's chief executive: "Indian companies need a wider pool of capital than is available at home.