London Stock Exchange open to dual listing of Indian companies, says LSEG boss

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) says it remains “open” to welcoming Indian companies for dual listings in London but has no specific agreement in place, amid broader discussions between the UK and India on market cooperation.

“We actually work very well with other exchanges,” LSEG CEO David Schwimmer told Yahoo Finance UK.

About 6,000 companies with a market cap worth close to $6tn (£4.5tn) are listed across the two main Indian stock exchanges: the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE.NS) and the National Stock Exchange (^NSEI). In the UK, 1,918 companies with a market cap of $3.4tn are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSEG.L).

Asked whether Indian regulatory caution toward foreign exchange partnerships was a barrier, Schwimmer said: “India is an area where first of all we have a lot of our people… in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and it’s a big focus area for us as a business.

“We do both data and also FX trading… there have been some restrictions on the Indian side for a number of years. I think there’s certainly openness on our side to welcoming more dual listings and we’ll see how that plays out. We have very good relationships with them [Indian stock exchanges].”

However, Schwimmer added that currently there were “no specific… partnerships or trade metrics”.

Indian firms are prohibited from listing directly on overseas exchanges. Instead, they can only list on foreign markets via instruments like depository receipts.

The initiative to enable Indian companies to list directly abroad was first unveiled in 2020 but was postponed due to concerns about potential tax losses and opposition from certain factions within India’s ruling party. Critics feared that allowing companies to list internationally would reduce regulatory oversight of these firms.

LSEG has been seeking to expand its international listings base amid competitive pressure from New York and Asian markets. Advocates argue that, if permitted under Indian rules, dual listings could provide Indian corporates with wider investor access while giving London a new growth pipeline.

In April, chancellor Rachel Reeves and India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said both countries were keen to deepen financial cooperation by enabling the cross-border travel of capital through direct equity share listings between their stock markets.

In a joint statement, Reeves and Sitharaman said: “Both sides acknowledge the opportunities that overseas equity listings offer to broaden access to global investors and enhance liquidity.

“Both sides welcome the recent regulations direct listing in India’s GIFT City, which will pave the way to allow Indian companies to list in international jurisdictions and noted the feasibility being explored by India for this at the London Stock Exchange.”

A report by the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), which sets the framework to connect the equity capital markets of London and Delhi, noted that India’s financial market had reached global standards.

India’s equity market capitalisation surpassed the $5tn mark in 2024, and the country is now the world’s leading market for initial public offerings (IPOs), the largest equity derivatives market by volume, and the second-largest equity capital market activity.

India, now the fifth-largest global economy with a GDP of $4.27tn, is poised to become the third-largest economy by the end of this decade. The report said that these developments have positioned the country’s equity market as an attractive destination for international issuers, particularly for those operating in India.

Since the mid-1990s, Indian companies have accessed international markets via depositary receipts (DRs), with many opting to list DRs in London, New York and Luxembourg. However, the IUKFP report suggested that this method has lost its appeal.

There have been very few DR issuances by Indian firms in the past decade. India also introduced an Indian depositary receipts (IDR) policy for foreign companies, though this route has seen little success, with only one international company using it.

The report argued that Indian companies with global ambitions might seek overseas listings not only to raise capital beyond what is available through foreign portfolio investments (FPI), foreign direct investment (FDI) or private equity, but also to access specialised investors and permanent capital and to facilitate overseas mergers and acquisitions. The same logic applies to foreign firms and investment funds looking to access the Indian market.

No Indian company has publicly shared its desire to have a second listing in London, but it would be no surprise to see some of the biggest companies exploring the possibility. Reliance (RELINFRA.NS), Tata (TATAMOTORS.NS) or Infosys (INFY.NS) all have a strong UK presence already.

The largest Indian company to IPO in London to date is natural resources group Vedanta (VEDL.NS) Resources, which listed in 2003 in a flotation that valued the company at more than £1bn.

By allowing equity listings abroad, the report said India would further internationalise its National Stock Exchange (^NSEI) and Bombay Stock Exchange (^BSESN), making them global players. This would enable Indian investors to diversify their portfolios into high-quality international stocks without tapping into their foreign exchange quotas under the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS). The report also noted that a cross-listing arrangement would enable foreign companies with listings in the UK to establish a presence on Indian stock exchanges.

London’s initial public offering (IPO) market, once a magnet for global capital, is now enduring its most prolonged slump in over a decade, amid broader concerns about the health and competitiveness of the UK’s equity markets.

Fundraising from London’s IPO scene slumped in the first half of 2025, with just nine initial public offerings (IPOs) raising £182.8m ($246.2m) – raising questions about the fading allure of the UK as a hub for global capital.

The bleak figures mark a steady decline from the same period last year, when eight IPOs generated £526.7m in H1 2024. The downturn continued in the second half of 2024, with nine IPOs raising £258m, according to analysis by law firm White & Case LLP of the latest London Stock Exchange data.

London’s most significant IPO of 2025 to date came in April with the listing of professional services company MHA (MHA.L), which raised £98m on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Though the UK has no regulatory or policy changes required to facilitate listing Indian equity stock on the LSEG, India’s regulatory framework must be updated. Specifically, the UK must be added as a “permitted jurisdiction” in India’s Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules 2024. Furthermore, the LSEG must be recognised as a permitted stock exchange.

The UK’s regulations also require shareholders in overseas companies to notify issuers of changes in voting rights at specific thresholds, starting at 5%. There is no expectation that Indian companies listing on the LSEG must disclose beneficial ownership beyond what is required under Indian corporate law. The IUKFP suggested that India adopt the UK’s standards for secondary listings, as they have lower disclosure thresholds.

An equity capital markets connectivity framework between the two countries would allow Indian firms to maintain their domestic domicile while accessing international capital. This approach would be more efficient than the current DR system. It would allow start-ups and private companies in India to tap global capital markets without shifting their domicile.

The workgroup also proposed that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should be able to review and approve prospectuses from Indian companies seeking a cross-listing. Indian companies could use their Indian accounting standards for financial statements, and once listed, they would be subject to the same obligations as other internationally listed companies.

When it comes to taxation, a thorny point that has delayed discussions to move forward with the plan, the working group recommended that these taxes and duties be levied only in the jurisdictions in which the trading has taken place (avoiding double taxation) and in which the investors are resident.

Delhi politics could still derail the plan, as the UKIFP report warns: “There are some in India who assert that India’s well developed equity markets with its rich valuations, large domestic and foreign investor base, and a market depth that can accommodate billions of dollars plus capital raisings, are adequate for Indian companies, and that they don’t need to seek funding or investors outside the country.”

Currently, to invest in shares of India’s listed companies, foreign investors have to use the foreign portfolio investment (FPI) route. Investors, whether individuals or firms, need to be registered with the country’s markets regulator and abide by its disclosure requirements. Most of the 10,800 FPIs are funds.

Non-resident Indians (NRI) can invest in the Indian stock market through the portfolio investment scheme and transactions are routed through a non-resident ordinary (NRO) savings account. The overall investment limit for NRIs and any person of Indian origin (PIO) in stocks is 10% of the company’s paid-up capital. Individual investment is capped at 5%.

NRIs cannot engage in intra-day trading, they have to take delivery of shares and can’t trade derivatives.

For UK investors, funds and investment trusts might be the most sensible option to capitalise on the Indian stock market, which has overtaken Hong Kong as the fourth largest in the world.

These provide diversified exposure to Indian markets and are managed by professional fund managers. Some popular options include:

JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII.L): This trust aims to provide long-term capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of Indian equities.
Aberdeen New India Investment Trust (ANII.L): Focuses on long-term capital growth through investments in Indian companies, leveraging Aberdeen’s expertise in Asian markets.
Franklin India Fund (0P0000W9XO.L): A mutual fund that invests in a broad range of Indian equities across various sectors.
iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA): An exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the MSCI India Index, providing broad exposure to Indian large- and mid-cap companies.
Jupiter India Fund (0P0001JKIB.L) – A diverse fund with 82 holdings spread across the financial services, healthcare, consumer, energy and industrial sectors.

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London Stock Exchange open to dual listing of Indian companies, says LSEG boss

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