New Delhi, Jan 24: In line with the announcement made in July last year by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, NirmalaSitharaman, regarding the direct listing of Indian companies at GIFT-IFSC exchanges in the first phase, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, has amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, Government said on Wednesday.
This amendment has led to the notification of the ‘Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme.’
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued the Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024.
Together, these rules establish a comprehensive regulatory framework enabling public Indian companies to issue and list their shares on permitted international exchanges. Currently, unlisted public Indian companies can list their shares on an international exchange, with SEBI in the process of issuing operational guidelines for listed public Indian companies.
The international stock exchanges at GIFT-IFSC, under the regulatory supervision of IFSCA, namely India International Exchange and NSE International Exchange, are currently prescribed as permitted stock exchanges under the Rules and the Scheme.
This policy initiative, enabling the listing of Indian companies in GIFT-IFSC, is poised to reshape the Indian capital market landscape. It offers Indian companies, particularly start-ups and those in the sunrise and technology sectors, an alternative avenue to access global capital beyond domestic exchanges.
This is expected to result in better valuation of Indian companies in line with global standards, boosting foreign investment flows, unlocking growth opportunities, and broadening the investor base, Government said.
