China beats India on Nasdaq listing

Indian companies fare poorly compared to their Chinese counterparts in listing their stocks on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States.

During this year alone, a total of nine Chinese firms have listed their shares on Nasdaq, said officials, who completed a tour of three cities in India to lure Indian companies to list on the US stock exchange.

In comparison, not one Indian company went for the Nasdaq listing during this calendar year, said Stuart C Patterson, senior managing director (international corporate client group), the Nasdaq Stock Market.

By the end of this calendar, two more Chinese companies are expected to list on Nasdaq, he said.

A total of 15 Chinese companies are listed on Nasdaq.

The Chinese firms that got listed on Nasdaq included China Automotive Systems Inc, which mobilised $248.8 million through the initial public offerings in August and China Finance Online ($234.5 million in October).'

Only three Indian companies - Infosys Technologies, Sify Ltd and Rediff.com India Ltd - are listed on Nasdaq.

Patterson, accompanied by two other senior colleagues, held meetings with Indian companies in IT, ITeS, biotech, pharmaceuticals, automotive sectors in Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

There are about 100 Indian companies that follow the US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices), which is a pre-requisite for the US listing, Patterson said, adding that he expects about 10-15 Indian companies to list on Nasdaq in 2005 calendar.