British bank Standard Chartered’s Indian depositary receipts (IDRs) traded close to their offer price in debut trading on the Mumbai stock exchange yesterday, in the first issue of its kind.
The bank, which makes most of its profits in Asia, last month raised US$530 million through the pioneering sale of IDRs.
IDRs are rupee-denominated certificates similar to US Depository Receipts that show ownership of shares in an overseas firm, with every 10 IDRs representing one Standard Chartered share.
Foreign firms are not allowed to list shares directly in India.
The Standard Chartered IDR rose to a day’s high of 108 rupees, before retracing to Rs104 at noon, as the benchmark 30-share SENSEX rose 1.2 percent.
India is Standard Chartered’s second-largest and fastest-growing market after Hong Kong, with profit in excess of US$1 billion last year.
“This is a historic development, as we got a strong response despite global volatility,” Standard Chartered chairman John Peace told reporters in Mumbai.
“India is in our DNA. We hope to go from strength to strength with a focus on emerging markets,” he said.
Analysts say Standard Chartered is better positioned than other global banks in a tough economic climate, as the majority of its business comes from high-growth emerging markets.
“The bank is a good long-term buy. We expect the local IDR to track the London price and global clues,” said Gaurav Dua, head of research at Sharekhan brokerage.
The IDR price was below the bank’s London stock exchange closing price of £16.49 on Thursday, which works out at Rs113 per IDR, with 10 IDRs equivalent to one Standard Chartered PLC share.
“We will see a trend where the IDRs will initially trade in the range of a 6 to 8 percent discount to the underlying London stock’s price,” Kejriwal Research director Arun Kejriwal said.
Local trading interest could be limited, as IDRs attract higher capital gains and dividend tax than local shares.
Buyers of the certificates can earn bonuses or dividends.
The funds raised through the IDR will be repatriated to the bank’s London headquarters as capital reserve to be used for growth and expansion plans.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS