Goan companies opening up to idea of listing themselves

When one is into business the first and foremost major challenge is to arrange for capital to establish the business and then arrange funds to run it. Usually to run a business a loan is either taken from a bank or any financial institution, which does carry a high rate of interests and this interest is not linked to the success or failure of business and it remains constant. 

The other option is to get listed on a stock exchange and raise the fund through shareholders. For the medium and small enterprise sector Bombay Stock Exchange has been doing so for last five years and there are over 270 companies which have listed themselves on BSE-SME so far. Goan entrepreneurs too have begun to tread this path and Mac Hotels became the first company from the State to enlist themselves.

Quadros Group of Companies started this journey of listing itself with the BSE-SME sector about five years ago with support from the director of Altin Securities, Clifton D’Silva and head of BSE-SME, Ajay Thakur. 

“These two persons are the first ones to lead the way in Goa. Somehow we are still on hold for several reasons but surely we are going to go forward in it since we started it. However, it has helped me create a corporate culture in Goa but in a different form. Corporate people in Mumbai and Delhi get burnt out easily as there is no leisure in life. I am sure Goa can lead the way to have a corporate life with leisure and obviously Goa is the best place to experiment that,” said Evencio Quadros, chairman and managing director, Quadros Group of Companies. 

Mr Quadros was pleasantly surprised to see that the first IPO from Goa (Mac Hotels) was oversubscribed. “This was despite Goans having meager knowledge of share market, the IPO of the first Goan company Mac Hotels was not only oversubscribed but was sold at a premuim of Rs 14 which in many cases is not happening in Mumbai or Delhi,” added Mr Quadros.  

“We have been doing a lot of awareness programs in Goa for last two to three years. This has yielded good results. Companies are coming forward and I hope in the coming year itself, we will see good number of companies getting listed on BSE SME Platform. BSE has laid the equity culture in India way back in 1875, almost 140 years of journey. Continuing with the same tradition, we became the first exchange to apply to SEBI for launching SME Platform and we became the first exchange not only to get approval but also to launch the SME Platform on March 13, 2012,” said Ajay Thakur, head of BSE-SME. 

Thakur added that, “we as an exchange understand the importance of SMEs to the growth of Indian economy. Goa has got lots of SMEs. We want the SMEs of Goa to get listed on BSE SME Platform and benefit from listing by raising equity funds, create visibility and credibility, strengthen their balance sheet and unlock their value. This will not only help them in their growth, but will also help the economy of the state grow as it will bring about all round development of Goa.”

Misquita Engineering from Nachinola in Goa is also in the process for getting itself listed on BSE-SME. This company manufactures parts for washing machines, telecom industry, electric motors etc. 

“We were fortunate to get the mentorship of Clifton D’Silva. He made us understand that by entering into a stock exchange one tends to unlock a lot of value and growth can be exponential given the availability of the funds,” said Avinash Misquita, chairman and managing director, Misquita Engineering.

Astra Metals from Verna industrial estate manufactures precision sheet metal components, which is widely used in ATM machines, petrol pump kiosks etc is also in the process to list itself. 

“The primary reason is to have fund raising perspective. Since the company has very large number of international customers it requires funds. Goan companies have less visibility and hence we found that stock exchange a great platform to raise funds after clearing several parameters which is a norm before entering the stock exchange. Also, it gives an opportunity for a company to realise its worth which is universally accepted in the market,” said the financial consultant and advisor of Astra Metals, Ashutosh Kharangate.

Paulo Travels which takes care of interstate travel through buses also wants to enlist themselves. “We want to expand and we want to unlock our value. To expand our services and facilities, we require funds and hence we thought we should enter the stock market from where we can raise funds,” said Mario S Pereira, director, Paulo Travels.