IOB expects Aug listing for GDR in Singapore

Indian Overseas Bank's (IOB) expects its global depository receipts to be listed in Singapore stock exchanges by the first week of August.

Addressing mediapersons S C Gupta, chairman and managing director, IOB said that seven crore shares at a premium will be issued of the GDR. The GDR issue is estimated at about Singapores $250 million (about Rs 650 crore) however the face value is yet to be worked out.

Decision on the allocation of the funds from the GDR, is yet to be taken he pointed out. Sivaram Swamy, general manager, IOB said that the bank was aiming at a price to book value ratio of 1.8 to 2.

The current holding of foreign institutional investors (FII) is 8.25 per cent which expected to go up to 18 per cent post the GDR issue.

The government's holding in IOB will be reduced to 54 per cent from 61.23 per cent at present. The government's holding in public sector banks cannot be less that 51 per cent according to minimum statutory requirement.

The total business volume of the bank crossed Rs 70,500 crore for the year ending March 31, 2005. Capital adequacy ratio was 14.21 per cent as March 31, 2005.