The International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, has notified its regulatory framework allowing the listing of such securities and other financial products.
“Considering that international financial centers act as hubs for fund raising by companies around the world, the new listing regulations have been drafted to position the IFSC as an attractive destination for raising of capital, both through equity and bonds,” IFSCA said in a statement.
To be eligible for this though, a company must have recorded an operating revenue of at least $20 million in the previous financial year or averaged that amount over the previous three financial years. It should also have a pre-tax profit of at least $1 million, and a minimum post-issue market capitalisation of $25 million.
Risk disclosures
IFSCA’s regulations call for disclosures such as risk factors, capital structure, and underwriting in the offer document. For a foreign company, the minimum public offer as well as public shareholding must be 10% of the post-issue capital.
For companies with a proposed share issue size of more than $50 million, the authority may issue its observations on the draft offer document within 21 working days.
Following that, the share offer has to be made within 12 months from the date of issuance of observations by the authority.
Companies listing debt securities will have to file listing application along with offer document with the required disclosures.
From 1 April, 2025, issuers shall be required to obtain a credit rating from at least one credit rating agency registered with the IFSCA, and may obtain an additional credit rating from a globally recognized agency.
On Thursday, the finance ministry announced easier listing requirements for Indian companies seeking to list on international exchanges at Gift City’s International Financial Service Centre.
