11th April 2005: Following the American stock exchanges like NASDAQ and NYSE, it’s now the turn of the London Stock Exchange to woo Indian companies aspiring for an international listing. As part of its plan to attract companies from countries like China, Russia and India, LSE has sent a team of two professionals – Hugh Sandeman, head of business development for India and James Woodley, manager, India & Australia – to India.
Mr. Woodley said in Chennai on Friday that LSE has emerged as the best global choice, with the same breadth and width of investors as in any big bourse. “Last year, LSE reported a total of 293 IPO’s. Of this, 69 were international IPO’s, compared with 18 in Nasdaq and 11 in NYSE,” he said.
LSE also dominated the European capital market during fiscal ’03, accounting for 79% of IPO’s. He said LSE is a cost-efficient exchange compared to the American exchanges. It is claimed that the London exchange’s transaction costs are competitive — at about 3-4% of an IPO, compared with 6%-7% in the US market.
LSE has two markets — a ‘main market’ for established companies to raise funds for their growth plans, and an ‘aim market’ for the early-stage companies to raise funds for their initial growth plans.
