MUMBAI: Yatra.com, the online travel-booking company, is considering a listing in the US — possibly on the Nasdaq — sometime next year.
"The US market has good appetite right now for high growth stocks. Most of our online peers from Latin America and China have also listed in the US," cofounder and Chief Executive Dhruv Shringi told ET in a recent interview. "A Nasdaq listing gives us a much wider coverage and higher volumes." But Yatra has yet to set a definite deadline. "We are planning to do by next calendar year. If our plans work out faster, we can also do it in the current fiscal year," he said.
Unlisted Yatra.com doesn't publish financial results. Analysts say most travel-booking companies in India, like local airlines, are unprofitable. Market leader Makemytrip, the only listed travel portal, posted its fifth straight loss in the October-December quarter. But the sector offers potential for growth in a country where e-commerce is just beginning to take off. Yatra expects American investors to understand its online business model and the opportunities it offer better than those at home in India. "Given that Yatra doesn't have a longstanding track record of profitability, it is likely to find better investor appetite for a US listing because the depth of investor base familiar and comfortable with Internet business models there is far greater," said Aashish Bhinde, executive director of Avendus Capital.
Rahul Singh -I
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