W I Carr Kicks Off Broking Arm Operations

This, according to them, has been one of the reasons for the delay in commencing operations, despite having procured a card some time ago.

"We wish the settlement procedures here were more streamlined, and which is why we are excited about the depository that is coming up here," Nicholas Harbinson, chief executive, W I Carr group, said.

"The timing has been kind of fortuitous. Besides, India is an important country and four or five months does not make any difference to us, since the focus is clearly long-term," Harbinson said, replying to queries on the entry into the Indian markets.

 

W I Carr, the stockbroking arm of the Banque Indo-Suez, is the majority stake holder in the new securities firm, with a 75 per cent stake. The rest is being held by an NRI partner.

The firm will provide a comprehensive research-based broking service to the domestic and international institutional investors.

The company, which now has a seat on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has also applied for a membership of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

"There are a lot of opportunities to be exploited here and we rate India very highly among the Asian markets.

We look at about 200 stocks in the Indian markets which is the highest number in any market. The total number of stocks that we operate in the whole of Asia, which includes 13 markets, is 1,200," officials said.

On the current FII sentiment on India, Harbinson said, "Value-wise the attraction is certainly there. On the whole we expect foreign institutional investment to steadily increase in the coming years."