Big plans

Mumbai, April 23 (Agencies): Standard Chartered is mulling an initial public offer in India and is understood to have appointed investment bankers to facilitate the exercise.

“Listing in India is a possibility. We are looking at it. We continuously evaluate options in line with our strategy and ambitions,” a StanChart spokesperson said.

StanChart’s country head Neeraj Swaroop had recently said the banking major was continuously evaluating listing options in India, which is “a key market for the bank”.

According to banking industry sources, StanChart has appointed Goldman Sachs, DSP Merrill Lynch, Kotak Mahindra, UBS AG and JM Financial as investment bankers.

Kotak Mahindra, JM Financial and Merrill Lynch officials declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.

One source said the initial public offer could raise about $1 billion, but another said it was likely to be lower than that.

“It is exploratory. We are getting ready in a regulatory standpoint. There is no assurance we will go ahead with an issue,” one banker involved in the deal said.

Standard Chartered, which is the largest foreign lender in India with 90 branches, will need the Reserve Bank’s approval for any share sale in the country, the sources said. The bank’s operating profit in India rose 37 per cent in 2008.