London Stock Exchange Group hosts London Capital Markets Forum in India this week, together with AZB and Partners, Deloitte, DLA Piper and HSBC.
Comprising of a series of seminars in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the forum will showcase London's leading role, through its extensive equity and debt capital markets offerings, in funding India's growth story. In 2016, London Stock Exchange cemented its position as the leading global venue for offshore Rupee denominated fundraising.
The forum follows Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's successful visit to the UK in February 2017. Minister Jaitley opened trading and joined Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc, together with delegates from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, leading Fintech companies and institutional investors to discuss how they can partner to India, supporting the country to develop its FinTech ecosystem and deliver key Indian priorities like infrastructure development, sustainable energy investment and the growth of smart cities.
The Forum will take place in New Delhi on 7 March, Mumbai on 8 March and Bangalore on 9 March 2017.
"As the leading global venue for international equity and debt fund raising, London Stock Exchange has been at the forefront in bringing the India growth story to the global investor community. More than 30 Masala bonds have listed on London Stock Exchange, raising equivalent to approximately USD 3.5 billion. London is a strong partner to India with the City providing a deep additional channel of finance for the development of Indian infrastructure and the growth of the economy," said Head of Analytics Funds and Fixed Income London Stock Exchange, Darko Hajdukovic.
"It is a really exciting time to be talking to potential issuers in India. There is a great opportunity in the debt and equity capital markets at present. DLA Piper is working on some significant mandates in this area, including masala bonds which are gaining in popularity. We hope that this event will give Indian issuers the information they need to choose a London markets based solution for their financing requirements," said Partner International Co-Chair, Financial Sector, Vincent Keaveny.
"Innovation in capital markets is extremely important to maintain its buoyancy. Companies would welcome newer avenues to manage the profile of their capital structure while continuing to feed the company's growth led capital needs. A Masala bond is one such viable option. It provides Indian companies with a good opportunity to raise debt from overseas investors with no foreign currency risk on its own balance sheet. The success of any instrument would depend on the depth of the participants which in-turn will determine liquidity. The availability of a strong investor base in terms of transaction size and tenor will also help better price discovery and thus the success of the product," said Deloitte spokesperson.