Government allows direct listing of securities by Indian Companies on GIFT IFSC
Following the amendment of Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, and notification of the ‘Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme’ by Department of Economic Affair, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has also notified Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024.
These, together, provide an overarching regulatory framework to enable public Indian companies to issue and list their shares in permitted international exchanges. As of now, the framework allows unlisted public Indian companies to list their shares on an international exchange. SEBI is in the process of issuing the 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 have been, currently, prescribed as permitted stock exchanges under the Rules and the Scheme.
As per the Ministry of Finance, this policy initiative, to enable listing of Indian companies in GIFT-IFSC, will reshape the Indian capital market landscape and offers Indian companies, especially start-ups and companies in the sunrise and technology sectors, an alternative avenue to access global capital beyond the domestic exchanges.
GIFT-IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre of India that connects India with global opportunities and also enables the Indian economy to connect with the global financial system and allows seamless and easy flow of global capital into India.
