More Indian Firms To List on Nasdaq

At least four Indian e-companies are expected to be
listed on Nasdaq by the end of this year, according to Nasdaq president Alfred R.
Berkeley, who was in India recently.

Although Berkely didn’t specify any names, likely companies include Rediff,
Silverline Industries, Wipro Bharti enterprises, Morepen Laboratories, Zee
Telefilms, Indiatimes.com, Indianfoline, and Pentamedia Graphics.

Industry sources claim that Indian IT companies such as NIIT, Aptech, BPL,
indiaisonline.com and Bharatplanet.com are also getting ready to list on
Nasdaq.

Berkely expects 24 Indian companies to be on the U.S. technology stock exchange
within two years, with over US$1 billion likely to be raised by these
companies.

“We are talking to over a dozen Indian companies for a possible listing on
Nasdaq and I expect one-third of these to be listed this year itself,” said
Berkely. “The success of Infosys and Satyam Infoway has
created a huge appetite for Indian stocks among US investors,” he added.

At present, Infosys and Satyam Infoway are the only Indian companies listed
on Nasdaq.

Nasdaq, which will soon set up an office in India, hopes to attract the
attention of successful Indian media and telecom companies as well.

With an increasing number of Indian companies planning to opt for a NYSE
listing, the Nasdaq president was on a hardsell trip.

“There is a growth
story here in India in tech stocks,” he said, pointing out estimates that 40 percent of software startups in California are run by Indians.

“The world is dependent on technology stocks,” said Patrick Sutch, vice
president of Nasdaq for the Asia-Pacific, adding that investors are looking
at future growth, not just performance.