By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Indian firms are set to explore listing internationally on the UK’s London Stock Exchange, amid trade talks between the two nations.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt welcomed the new financial commitment to explore London as a permitted jurisdiction for overseas direct listings of securities.
It comes amid a troubling time for the LSE in which initial public offerings fell sharply. Just 18 firms raised £650m in the first half 2023, a slump of 30 per cent on a torrid 2022.
And it followed face-to-face talks with Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi today as part of the 12th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to the Indian capital for the G20 leaders’ summit.
The news came after recent changes to Indian regulations to allow domestic companies to access global markets, in what’s being seen as a boost to the Square Mile.
Hunt said he was “very proud of the progress” and called the news “a big step forward”.
He added: “I see India as Asia’s Silicon Valley and the UK as Europe’s Silicon Valley, so there’s a lot we can work on together.”
Chris Hayward, City of London Corporation (CoLC) policy chairman, said the scheme was “aimed at leveraging the City’s expertise in structuring and phasing major projects to meet India’s infrastructure needs – smoothing the path for long-term sustainable investment”.
He added: “The EFD marks the strength of the partnership and lays an excellent foundation for future ventures between our financial and professional services sectors.”
Bill Winters, UK chairman of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), added: “This innovative public-private partnership has delivered real benefits for both our nations.
“We look forward to working with both governments to advance our shared goals, including deepening our bilateral trade and investment relationship, greening our financial systems, enhancing collaboration on financial innovation, and enabling cross-border data flows.
“India and the UK are natural partners, and there are valuable opportunities for us to learn from our respective successes and benefits to be gained by harnessing our full potential.”
Other agreements include a cross-market insurance and pensions investment partnership; launching the UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge; UK guaranteeing a further $1bn in World Bank green financing for India; and plans to explore new climate investment options.
