Startup giants seek PM Modi's permission for direct overseas listing of Indian firms

The leaders of several Indian startups and venture capitalists jointly wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to allow direct overseas listing of homegrown Indian companies. They also sent copies of the letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, IT Minister Ashwini Viashnaw and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Indian Startups write to PM Modi

According to sources, the founders emphasised that such a move will bring reform for the start-up ecosystem and will pave the way for Indian firms to be on the global map. Contending that India wants to produce, multinational tech giants in the letter to PM Modi stated, "permitting Indian start-ups to access global capital by listing on international exchanges is an absolute must-have."

They also pointed out that in this year alone, the country added 18 unicorns, taking the total tally to 55. Given this trend of fast-paced growth, many such mature companies are now keen to tap stock markets to raise further capital, as it will allow them to fuel their domestic and international expansion, generate employment and make India more efficient and competitive.

The letter to PM Modi was signed by BYJU's founder Byju Raveendran, Swiggy's Sriharsha Majety, Rebel Food's Jaydeep Barman, Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal, Urban Company's Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Matrix Partners India MD Vikram Vaidyanathan and Cred's Kunal Shah, among others.

Pointing out the benefits of overseas listing, the letter said, "International stock exchange listings will also help raise the profile of Indian startups, helping them compete on a global stage with start-ups from other countries."

The founders said that even if the international listing is permitted, they will continue to prefer the listing of domestic bourses. However, they asserted that overseas listing will benefit tech companies.

The letter also specified the current inability of unlisted firms to tap overseas marks for raising capital is "an impediment to the growth ambitions of Indian start-ups as their access to wider global pools of capital is blocked."

"As a result, most Indian start-ups do not have a level playing field with their counterparts in other global start-up hubs. It is also a factor resulting in the migration of start-ups outside India, or flipping as we term it, with many of them moving their base overseas," the letter added.

Image: ByjuRaavendran/Instagram,Kunal Shah/Instagram,ANI