LONDON, Dec 17: Seven large Indian companies — four of them in property and construction — are poised to join London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) next year, with more than 20 listings expected in a move that would raise at least £2.5bn
According to the Sunday Telegraph the rush of Indian companies follows a total of 11 Indian listings on Aim in 2006, which raised more than £1bn. Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange has also been holding talks over possible joint ventures with a number of smaller international exchanges, including Mumbai and Dubai, as part of its efforts to attract more listings.
But Indian advisers have openly revealed that the attraction of Aim for some Indian firms is a perceived lack of corporate governance, low levels of disclosure and poor due diligence conducted by brokers.
"The most important attraction (for some Indian companies) is that transparency and corporate governance standards are very low on the Aim market. It's ideal for an unlisted company which doesn't want to disclose much," says Raj Bhatt, the chairman and managing director of Elra Capital.
He added that private equity firms – the other major source of capital for fast-growing Indian firms – have far higher standards than the London brokers who advise on Aim flotations.
The comments come amid increasing concerns among fund managers over the quality of some of the international companies joining Aim.
Grant Thornton, the accountancy and consultancy group is currently advising about 30 Indian companies that are considering a listing on Aim. The figure includes around a dozen property firms or retail-related property funds, along with six technology companies and two pharmaceutical groups. On average these companies are looking to raise between £15m and £20m through flotation.A senior Grant Thornton executive said: "Compared to other leading bourses such as Nasdaq, the American Stock Exchange, the over-the--counter exchange and even the Bombay Stock Exchange, there are no minimum requirements with respect to initial equity required, market capitalisation and trading history in Aim."
Ibukun Adebayo, the LSE's head of business development in India, said: "Indian corporates are increasingly favouring the Aim bourse for listing now. It is an entry point for new players to the main market. Aim is a nursery for the LSE. We hope another 20 or more Indian companies will be listing on Aim in 2007."
