Tata Consultacy Services, India's largest software firm, will go for a public offer in the domestic market in the "near future" and list its shares in the US, its chairman Ratan Tata said in Beijing on Thursday.
"Well, I think I will be on dangerous grounds if I comment on when we are going to have the public offering. I think it is public knowledge that we are on our way to have a public offering and the process is underway," he said at a press conference in Beijing.
Tatas have big plans for China
Ratan Tata is economic advisor to China city
Tata said, "The markets are excited and seem to be rising; therefore I would say that it (the public offering) will be in the near future."
To a question on the date of the offering, he said, "You would see a public offering in near future. I am afraid I cannot comment on that (exact date)".
Asked about reports of an apparent delay in the offering, he said, "There has not been a delay. It has been a conscious postponement driven basically by downturn in the technology stocks. In hindsight, we are pleased with the delay."
TCS, the first Indian IT giant to enter China with a wholly-owned foreign enterprise, has completed one year of operations.
The company is bullish on the Chinese market and its state-of-the-art software development facility in Hangzhou city in East China has already started moving at a fast pace with 150 professionals.
Tata said the public offerings would be initially in the domestic market and then the company hopes to list it in the United States.
"Initially we have to list it in India by law and then we hope to list in the US as an ADR," he said.
Asked whether the public offering would be available in the Hong Kong and Singapore stock markets, he responded in the affirmative. "We have good reason to believe that Hong Kong and Singapore are very important investment markets in the Far East Asia."
Tata said the company's investment in China has gone up from two million dollars to five million dollars. "We are enthusiastic about the investment situation in China and look forward to learning more about business opportunities here during our visit. We see China as the next emerging area of IT services and wish to create a significant presence here."
TCS CEO S Ramadorai said the company is delighted to have a successful first year in China.
"But we are even more excited about the next few years as we grow our commitment with more research and development projects and more local training here," he said.