Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 41 - The Challenges of Taking Startups Public in India with Madhurima Mukherjee

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 41 – The Challenges of Taking Startups Public in India with Madhurima Mukherjee

April 5, 2024

Madhurima Mukherjee heads the J Sagar Associates law firm’s capital markets division in New Delhi. She has over two decades of experience in securities offerings in domestic and international markets, including initial public offerings (IPOs), further offers, rights offers, qualified institutional placements, and block trades.

Sometimes referred to as India’s “queen of capital markets,” Madhurima has been involved in some of the country’s highest-profile capital-raising efforts, including the 2010 Coal India IPO, which eventually raised over US$2.5 billion and remains one of India’s largest IPOs.

Before joining JSA, she was a Senior Partner at AZB & Partners until April 2020. She also worked with Luthra & Luthra as a national head and partner until 2013, and before that, she was a partner at the firm of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., as a partner until 2006.

Madhurima had taken credit courses and some seminars in Capital Markets at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and National Law School, New Delhi.

Given that India is currently in a solid growth mode compared to much of the world, it’s no surprise that such an environment has birthed a budding startup scene. Indeed, in the three-plus decades since the Indian economy liberalized, even more young entrepreneurs have arrived on the scene, many with dreams of becoming publicly listed companies via the IPO route. Yet, as a developing nation, myriad challenges remain for startups seeking public listings in India, which Madhurima delineates in her chat with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani in this episode.

She discusses how she found her way in the legal profession, her passion for working with startups, and the challenges they face in India beyond those of legal, regulatory, financial/liquidity, and managerial issues.

Madhurima stresses the challenges of getting and retaining talent and the degree of governmental support—or the lack thereof—in the form of red tape, tax, and support programs that Indian startups face.

The conversation concludes with her views on how the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)—the country’s capital markets watchdog—can improve securities and listing rules to facilitate startups’ public offerings.

Podcast Discussion:

2:47 Charting New Paths: A Woman’s Journey in India’s Evolving Corporate Landscape
5:31 From Fax Machines to Specialized Expertise: Navigating India’s Corporate Evolution
9:58 Growing Up Global: India’s Corporate Landscape
14:30 Challenges for Indian Startups in Public Markets: Market Sentiment, Valuations, and Regulatory Hurdles
2329 Balancing Regulation and Innovation: The Tricky Landscape of Public Markets for Indian Startups
37:26 Early Stage Essentials: The Importance of Corporate Governance and Capital Structure for Startups
44:14 Startup Market Sentiment in India: Overvaluation, Saturation, and Regulatory Uncertainties
51:16 Deciphering India’s Business Landscape, The Need for a Secondary Market for Startups

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