Press releases 2002

18 September 2002

London Stock Exchange reports increase in trading in Indian companies
(Offers Indian companies new opportunities with techMARKand techMARK mediscience)

The London Stock Exchange announced today that 32 per cent more Indian shares and depositary receipts had been traded on its markets this year compared with the same period last year. During the period January- August 2002 there were 631.7 million Indian shares and depositary receipts traded, compared with 480.2 million during January- August 2001.

The Exchange was speaking at its conference for Indian technology and healthcare companies in Bangalore, where it was promoting the strengths of the London market. A number of market practitioners spoke at the event including Bank of New York, ICICI Securities, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Crawford Bayley & Co. Each gave an insight into the practicalities of an international listing in London.

Deborah Medley-Foye, Head of Indian Business Development at the Exchange, said: "There has been a significant increase in the trading of Indian paper in London this year. Indian companies can take advantage of this opportunity- it is a strong sign of the growing investor interest for Indian companies in London, and makes a London listing even more attractive than before."

The Exchange introduced its markets for technology and healthcare companies- techMARK and techMARK mediscience- last November in Mumbai. That initiative has created considerable interest in India and today's conference in Bangalore promoted those markets further. The conference formed part of the Exchange's programme of visits to India and includes meetings and presentations in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

techMARK is London's international market for technology companies. It will enable innovative Indian technology companies to raise funds from the world's largest centre for international capital and enhance their profile with the world's leading investors, fund managers and financial institutions.

techMARK mediscience is the Exchange's international market for healthcare companies and draws together companies involved in biotechnology, medical technology, specialist pharmaceuticals, drug delivery and diagnostics.

London has the most international stock market in the world with more international equity funds under management than any other financial centre. It offers world class regulatory standards and global visibility to companies listed on its markets. 18 Indian companies are currently listed in London, more than on the NYSE and Nasdaq combined.

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For further information, please contact:

Poornima Matthan / Mahesh Senthikumar, Perfect Relations, Bangalore
+91 (0)80 5598213 / 5598245
poornima@perfectrelations.com / msenthikumar@perfectrelations.com

Ian Campbell, Press Office, London Stock Exchange
+44 (0)20 7797 1425 icampbell@londonstockexchange.com

Notes to editors:

The Exchange's conference "The London Advantage" was designed to present the Exchange's markets to Indian technology and healthcare companies. The event took place at the Oberoi Hotel, Bangalore, with speakers including representatives from ICICI Securities, Bank of New York, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Crawford Bayley & Co.

London offers a comprehensive range of markets and routes to an international listing tailored for Indian companies, including retail and professional depositary receipts, shares and bonds.

There are 18 Indian companies listed in London. For more information click here

London has more international equity funds under management than any other financial centre in the world. (US$2,460 billion in London compared with US$2,360 billion in New York or US$2,060 in Tokyo. Source: Thomson Financial, International Target Cities Report 2000.)

London has twice as much international trading reported as Nasdaq, NYSE, Deutsche Borse and Euronext combined. (For February- June 2002. Value of non-domestic trading: London Stock Exchange 652.24 billion, Nasdaq 80.36 billion, NYSE 206.79 billion, Deutsche Borse 32.84 billion, Euronext 6.12 billion. Source: WFE/FESE.)

There are more countries represented on the London Stock Exchange's markets than any other exchange in the world. Companies from 62 countries are on the Exchange's markets (at end July 2002) compared with 41 on Nasdaq (at end September 4th 2002) and 51 on NYSE (at August 9th 2002). Source: London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq and NYSE websites.

techMARK is a global market for innovative technology companies and techMARK mediscience is an international market for healthcare companies.