New amendments facilitate easier access to global capital for Indian start-ups and companies in sunrise and technology sectors

Amendments underscore Government's commitment to providing an agile and world-class regulatory and business environment at IFSCs, thereby strengthening India's position in global financial system

The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, has amended the Securities Contracts Regulation Rules (SCRR), 1956 to ease the listing requirements for Indian companies seeking to list on international exchanges within International Financial Service Centres (IFSCs) at par with global standards.

‘Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme’ under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments), 2019 and Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024 together, provide an overarching regulatory framework to enable public Indian companies to issue and list their shares in permitted international stock exchanges at GIFT-IFSC.

To further facilitate this, the new rules stipulate that:

• Minimum Public Offer: For public Indian companies desiring to list solely on international exchanges in IFSCs, the minimum offer and allotment to the public as per the offer document shall be at least 10% of the post-issue capital.
• Continuous Listing Requirements: The continuous listing requirement for such companies has also been set at 10%, as outlined under Rules 19 (2)(b) and 19A of the SCRR.

By reducing these thresholds, the amendments in SCRR facilitate easier access to global capital for Indian start-ups and companies in the sunrise and the technology sectors. This will particularly benefit Indian companies going global and having ambitions to look at opportunities for expanding their presence in other markets.

This initiative underscores the Government's commitment to providing an agile and world-class regulatory and business environment in the IFSCs, thereby strengthening India's position in the global financial system.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NOTIFICATION

Direct listing on IFSC exchanges permits Indian public companies to access global capital through reduced listing thresholds. Amendments to the Securities Contracts Regulation Rules, 1956 reduce public offer and continuous listing thresholds to permit Indian public companies to directly list equity on permitted international exchanges within GIFT IFSC, operating together with the Direct Listing scheme under foreign exchange rules and the Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules to create an integrated regulatory pathway for access to global capital.