Ibukun Adebayo, Senior Manager – India, London Stock Exchange, tells Exec Digital about the burgeoning Indian businesses on the LSE
Written by Ibukun Adebayo
On June 19 1995, ten small UK-based firms with a total market capitalisation of £82 million began trading on the London Stock Exchange’s brand new ‘junior’ market. Today, more than thirteen years on, the Alternative Investment Market, or AIM as the market is now usually referred to, is the world’s pre-eminent stock market for young growing companies. It is home to over 1600 companies from across the globe, with a combined market capitalisation of over £90 billion. With the SME sector playing such a central role in India’s growth and emergence onto the global stage it should come as no surprise that ambitious Indian companies are among those turning to AIM to fund the next stage of their growth.
The past few months have been particularly strong for new Indian admissions to AIM, with four Indian companies joining in less than four weeks, raising US$387 million between them. These four new admissions took the total number of Indian companies across our markets to 52, of which 24 are quoted on AIM. With the pipeline of growing, innovative Indian companies looking to come to AIM remaining very strong we expect to see many more Indian firms joining the market over the coming years.
An ideal platform
So what is it that is attracting Indian companies, from Bollywood film producers to real estate developers, to raise money here in London? Well, in short London is the ideal platform from which ambitious Indian companies can fulfil their wider international aspirations. In our interconnected world it is now possible for dynamic companies to become global leaders faster than ever before, reaching out to new markets and new sources of funding. An AIM quotation allows firms to go global on a market that encourages innovation through its regulatory system specifically designed to suit the needs of growing companies.
The internationalisation of Indian businesses, large and small alike, means that Indian companies want and need to access capital markets on a global basis rather than simply through their home market. Our markets offer companies like Mortice, which recently became the first Indian facilities management firm to join AIM, access to the world’s deepest pool of international equity funds under management.
Indian AIM-quoted companies also benefit from the expertise and support of what we call “the AIM community”, an unparalleled range of professional and business advisers that are inherently outward looking in their perspective and are committed to serving emerging markets.
I strongly believe that AIM has the credentials and momentum to continue in its role as the world’s growth market and am convinced that many more ambitious international companies will choose to go global on our markets. With the Indian economy powering ahead and so many growing and innovative companies in the region I feel certain that India will continue to be at the forefront of our international expansion. In a world where global investments need financing on global markets, we look forward to playing our full part in developing the Indian economy.