Mumbai listing for Standard Chartered

Mar 05, 2010

Hong Kong bank first foreign company to list in India

Standard Chartered announced plans to list on Bombay Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2010 at its results presentation on Wednesday.

The news arrives following months of speculation and after the bank reported a 19 percent rise in annual operating profits in India, its second-biggest market behind Hong Kong.

The move will bolster the bank’s presence in the subcontinent. A Standard Chartered representative told IR magazine last November that the listing was a brand exercise.

The bank is hoping to issue $750 mn of new shares to Indians, Neeraj Swaroop, CEO of Standard Chartered South Asia, said in a recent interview.

This move may give other companies hope when the Shanghai market opens up to non-domestic companies; Standard Chartered itself has mooted a listing in Shanghai. Such a move could complement the bank’s Hong Kong presence, which accounts for $1.062 bn of operating profits, slightly more than the $1.060 bn it generates in India.

By Robin Froggatt-Smith