IFSCA to notify revised norms on direct listing in early July: Chairman

International financial services regulator IFSCA will finalise a revised norms for direct listing of companies at GIFT City by early-July, Chairman K Rajaraman said on Wednesday. Rajaraman said the highest decision making body of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) will approve the norms by end of June and the same will be notified by early July.

"Based on our interactions with various users, we have realized that our regulations need a little update. Therefore, what we have done in the last two months is to update our listing regulations," he told reporters here.

He, however, did not specify the exact changes that will come out in the revised norms.

Though unlisted companies can list on the international exchanges even now, he said the companies will be able to list under the revised norms by August.

For the companies already listed in India, capital market regulators Sebi has to amend a slew of its existing regulations before such entities access the foreign money through the GIFT City, he said.

Securities and exchange board of India (Sebi) will take up to three months for making the necessary amendments in its frameworks, he said, adding that the IFSCA has already provided its inputs on the matter.

In the case of already listed domestic companies, the equity issue at IFSCA will be akin to a follow-on public offer, he said, assuring that the IFSCA will clear issuances within a month.

Companies engaged in sectors such as e-commerce and technology startups, or those having headquarters overseas with substantial business in India are expected to look for direct listing and accessing global capital from the IFSCA, he said.

Activities on the direct listing front will also help grow the number of brokerages and merchant bankers at the GIFT City, he said, adding that at present there are 50 brokerages there who primarily trade in Nifty-50.

The inclusion of India in global bond indices will up the interest in the overseas direct investment route, he said.

To a query on raising sovereign green bonds, Rajaraman said all the decks are now clear between the Reserve Bank and IFSCA, and added that it is now upon the government to decide when it plans to undertake the issuance.

Investment in the sovereign green bonds will be in dollars but the paper will be denominated in Indian rupees, he added.

On the proposed merger between India INX and NSE IX being called off, Rajaraman said the authority has been informed of the decision and welcomes the operation of two separate exchanges as it will drive innovation and deliver better services.

Meanwhile, Rajaraman said the IFSCA has authorized IIBX, the bullion exchange at the GIFT City, to launch gold futures and the product will get rolled out in the next 15 days. In a few months, it will also look at launching silver futures, he added.

Since its inception, IIBX, which acts as a spot exchange, has seen trades of 10 tonnes in gold and over 1,000 tonnes in silver, Rajaraman said, attributing the high activity in the latter to the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) signed with UAE.

He also said that the authority expects a lot of Indian companies who are into offering book keeping, accounting and taxation services to make best use of the recently announced norms on the subject and operate from the GIFT City, because there is a big demand for such vocations in the West.