Tata Steel looks at overseas listing

Could be either NYSE or LSE: MD.

After Tata Motors last year, it is the turn of Tata Steel of the Rs 54,000 crore Tata group to be listed abroad. The Tata brass is set on listing the shares of the second largest steel maker in the country either on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

"It is important because as a global player it is good to be listed in London or New York. That is something we are thinking about," Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman told Reuters in Singapore. Muthuraman also said it was uncertain when a decision on this would be made.

Tata Steel has just completed its Rs 810 crore acquisition of the Singapore-based NatSteel Asia. The acquisition has added 2 million tonnes to the company's capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum.

The company is currently pursuing an expansion programme, which will eventually take its capacity to 5 million tonnes.

The steel behemoth already has its global depository receipts (GDRs) listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Tata Motors last year listed its shares on the NYSE by converting its GDRs to American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Group telecom company VSNL also has its ADRs listed on the NYSE.

Software company Tata Consultancy Services has said it will also tap the overseas market to list its shares.

The Tata group has been spreading its wings in the global arena. Group chairman Ratan Tata had earlier stated that more companies from the Tata stable would be listed on the NYSE.