Centre permits Indian companies to list directly overseas.

The government has made a major move by allowing Indian companies, subject to certain conditions, to list on foreign exchanges.

In this regard, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has notified the applicable section under the Companies Law. At the moment, American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) are used for local listed entities’ overseas listings.

In a notification on October 30, the ministry stated, “The Central Government hereby appoints the 30th day of October 2023 as the date on which the provisions of section 5 of the said Act shall come into force,” exercising the authority granted by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 (29 of 2020).

The guidelines for Indian companies to list directly overseas have not yet been announced.

Certain classes of public companies may list their securities on authorized stock exchanges in foreign jurisdictions that are acceptable or in other jurisdictions that may be designated by Section 5.