Tata Motors lists on NYSE

By Our Corporate Bureau | 28 Sep 2004

New Delhi: Tata Motors on Monday became the first company from the Indian engineering sector to list its securities on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company listed its 'depository shares programme' on the NYSE through conversion of its existing international global depository shares (GDSs) into American depository shares (ADSs). The shares were listed at $9.15, a 2.7 per cent premium.

Ratan N Tata, chairman, Tata Motors, was in New York for the listing and rang the opening bell on the NYSE in the presence of senior officials of Tata Motors and NYSE.

According to a company statement, Tata said, "It is a great privilege for us to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and we hope it will provide our overseas investors with greater opportunities to enhance their interest in the company. We are confident that the company will benefit from the capital market access that this listing provides, and from the adoption of the comprehensive corporate governance standards."

As on date, there are 23.1 million outstanding ADSs, each representing one underlying ordinary share of the company. The ADSs in aggregate represent 6.4 per cent of the paid-up share capital of the company. The ADSs are fungible with the ordinary shares of the company up to the current permissible limits of 15.1 per cent of the company's paid-up capital. According to the statement, the company's market capitalisation is around Rs15,000 crore ($3.3 billion).

Subsequent to the NYSE listing, the GDS listing on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange will stand suspended. The symbol for Tata Motors on the NYSE will be `TTM'. Citibank NA is the depository.