NYSE turns the heat on Nasdaq in India

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has stolen a march over its rival Nasdaq in India.

It's not only bricks and mortar companies such as ICICI Bank and Sterlite that are going in for NYSE listing, even the new age ones "" considered to be Nasdaq's USP "" are going to NYSE for raising capital. WNS Holdings, a leading business process outsourcing provider, was just one of them in recent times.

Top BPO Genpact also has announced a $ 600 million IPO for a NYSE listing and reports suggest two more BPOs "" 24/7 Customer and Sutherland "" are also planning a similar move in the next 12-18 months.

NYSE now has a total of 11 Indian companies. In contrast, Nasdaq is still stuck with the first three Indian companies listed during the 1990s "" Infosys Technologies, Rediff.com and Sify.

Two other companies "" EXL Service (listed last October) and Cognizant Technology "" are listed on Nasdaq, which have big Indian operations, but both are considered US companies.

"We have a long-term commitment to and very successful partnership with India, highlighted most recently by the strong listing and capital raising activity, and our recent strategic investment in the NSE," said Madhu Kannan, managing director (Asia Emerging Markets) of the NYSE Group.

"Further, the recent easing of the Sarbanes-Oxley rules are helping to reduce the burden associated with registering US securities," adds Kannan.

"In effect, the costs of complying with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley are coming down as a result of these changes, while the benefits of a listing, most notably the valuation premium, are clearly evident," he said.

The NASDAQ representative in India did not respond to a mail.

Neeraj Bhargava, Group CEO- WNS Global Services, which raised $ 224 million through a NYSE listing, explains the advantages of the US exchange:

"Firstly, comparables in the US traded significantly higher than in India or the UK. Our direct competition is listed there as well."

More importantly, the listing provided WNS with credibility in a country where many of our key customers are. Finally, having shares listed in the US gave the company a universal currency for acquisitions. "To reach our clientele, NYSE was a better reason than NASDAQ," Bhargava said.

NYSE also scored over Nasdaq when it took 5 per cent stake in India's No. 1 bourse National Stock Exchange early this year, the maximum allowed for a foreign investor in Indian stock exchanges.

The strategic investment reflected its serious intent to participate in Indian bourses, where the market capitalisation recently crossed the $ 1 trillion mark. Meanwhile, NASDAQ's attempt to buy into the other leading domestic exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) did not come through after Germany's Deutsche Boerse and Singapore Exchange (SGX) moved early to seal the deal.