Standard Chartered Bank is gearing up to raise funds through an issue of Indian depository receipts (IDR) as early as April next year, reported The Economic Times. If it succeeds, the move will make the UK-based bank the first overseas entity to do so.
Standard Chartered is expected to raise approximately $500m through its IDR offering. The bank also aims to establish a stronger connect with a market from which it gets nearly 20% of its revenues. At present the bank’s shares are listed on London and Hong Kong stock exchanges and it plans to list in China stock exchange also.
Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered, said: “We’re keen to launch the IDR and are working on the mechanics with the regulators. There are a few wrinkles left but we’re largely there. If this (the IDR) were purely about raising capital, there are so many other ways to do it, as we have demonstrated in the past. For us, the IDR is much more about reinforcing our commitment to this market, than raising capital,” reported the newspaper.
