Standard Chartered's Indian share offering raises $537m

The UK's Standard Chartered Bank has raised $537m in India, in the first initiative of its type there by a foreign company.

The offering, which closed on Friday, was more than twice oversubscribed.

Standard Chartered sold shares through a method known as Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs), which show ownership of shares in an overseas firm.

The bank will issue 240 million IDRs at a price of 104 rupees (£1.55; $2.24) each.

The bank said interest had come from both institutional investors and "high-net worth individuals".

The IDRs are set to be listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India Limited by 11 June.

"The response to the offer has been excellent. We have achieved this against a background of significant equity market volatility," said Richard Meddings, Standard Chartered's group finance director.

Buyers of the certificates earn bonuses or dividends in the same way as they would as direct owners of Standard Chartered shares.

The bank is aiming to boost its brand and visibility in India, where it opened its first branch more than 150 years ago.

India is Standard Chartered's second-largest and fastest-growing market after Hong Kong.