GCM-diversification benefits

GROWING INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION

Capital Market Integration

Capital market integration is one of the most important aspects of the global capital market. Capital market integration has a significant impact on the global economic growth. Recently, the European Union and the United States have taken a strong commitment towards capital market integration.

Capital market integration plays a significant role in the field of international financial economics because capital market integration deals with a number of issues associated with integration of markets, implementation of policies, and the handling of crisis resulting from integration.

The United States and European Union have concurred that higher level of cooperation in the capital market sector is the path to encourage the economy of transatlantic financial services. A summit was held on 20th June, 2005 in Washington and there it was decided by the US and EU leaders to put the focus on capital market integration. In this process, they will continue to include a comprehensive variety of economic participants for reducing regulatory hurdles, as well as getting rid of commercial and investment hindrances.

The steps which will be formulated include the following:

Combating money laundering and corporate fraudulence
Formation of a high-tier regulatory co-operation forum
Additional co-ordinating implementation of competition legislations
Growth of capital market integration and this will involve:

1. Concurrence of accounting standards;
2. Consolidation of settlement and clearing systems;
3. Approval and enforcement of Basel II;
4. Formation of transatlantic venture capital market;

The principal objective behind capital market integration is minimization of cost by increasing the compatibility of financial regulatory systems of the European Union and the United States.

Market Integration Influences

National economies have recently become more closely linked, not only because of growing international trade and investment flows, but also due to terms of international financial transactions. Influences contributing to an increased general level of correlation among markets and markets integration include the following:

1. Development of global and multinational companies and organizations,
2. Advances in information technology,
3. Deregulation of the financial systems of the major industrialized countries,
4. Explosive growth in international capital flows, and
5. Abolishment of foreign exchange controls.

While some controversy exists among investment professionals regarding the benefits and costs of international portfolio investment, there is agreement that international equity portfolio diversification recommendations are based on the existence of low correlations among national stock markets.
On the other hand, if it is true, as some recent studies have shown, that cross-country correlation is increasing, due perhaps to the growing interdependence among the international markets, then benefits of international portfolio diversification may be overstated. In this article we aim to shed light on international equity market interdependence by utilizing data from three major equity markets for a relatively short time period. In examining the co-movements of American, Japanese, and German equity markets, we seek to identify diversification opportunities for international investors with the aim of lowering the investment risk. We also investigate the stability of the relationships among the markets after an unexpected, exogenous event.

DIVERSIFICATION BENEFITS OF GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

What Does Diversification Mean?
A risk management technique that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio. The rationale behind this technique contends that a portfolio of different kinds of investments will, on average, yield higher returns and pose a lower risk than any individual investment found within the portfolio.

Diversification strives to smooth out unsystematic risk events in a portfolio so that the positive performance of some investments will neutralize the negative performance of others. Therefore, the benefits of diversification will hold only if the securities in the portfolio are not perfectly correlated. What are the

Advantages of Global Diversification?

1. Making foreign investments may lead to phenomenal success, especially when made in foreign emerging markets. Investments in mutual funds may vary in performances, but there is lesser risks in losing what you had invested.

2. Global diversification contributes to the advancement in information technology, opening the doors for global development of multinational companies. With the exchange of investment comes an exchange of knowledge as well.

3. Global investments help abolish stringent foreign exchange control and assist in the deregulation of the financial system in many of the major first-world countries. This can allow flexibility in trade and more room for small league players to enter the global market industry.

4. Doing business globally have helped stabilize the interdependency of foreign markets, building stronger economic ties among tiger economies and developing countries. A good example of this correlation is when the US stock market had been halted due to the 9/11 attacks. This event had indeed affected the world trade and stock markets at that time.

What are the Disadvantages of Global Diversification?

1. Too much interdependency can sometimes cause a ripple effect that affects one country to the other, specially when many developing countries rely heavily on the US Dollar for its market stability.

2. Global diversification had a major impact in the US housing industries, where sales and prices are sinking way beyond rock bottom.

3. Global investments have created a chain reaction of unfortunate events, where many companies outsource their workforce to cheaper countries, while many are losing jobs back home. The demand for the cheapest labor had become a rave in today’s dwindling economy.

4. Global diversification had placed mortgage firms under fire, where many consumers are forced to seek refinancing to avoid foreclosures, and many have stopped making timely mortgage payments due to financial troubles.

For many investors, the US bond market represents a lucrative investment that makes up a large piece of the global investment pie. But this only makes up 40 percent of the world’s financial market. With the strength of the Euro coming into play, it can be safer to invest in other global bond market as well. Overall, the world fixed income markets are continually growing. By global diversification of your investments, you give yourself a heads up in playing in the international financial market, where greater potential yields await. Open your horizons to a whole new world of financial opportunities!

GDR-ADR-IDR-EDRS

Question1.  DRs.

Introduction

Depository Receipts are  a type of negotiable (transferable) financial security, representing a security, usually in the form of equity, issued by a foreign publicly-listed company.  However, DRs are   traded on a local stock exchange though the foreign public listed company is not traded on the local exchange. 

TRADING

The Details of a DR Purchase by An Investor

1.     An investor calls her broker to buy DRs for a particular company.

2.     The broker fills the order by either buying the DRs on any of the exchanges that it trades, or by buying ordinary company shares in the home market of the company by using a broker in the issuer's country. The foreign broker then delivers the shares to the custodian bank.

3.     The investor’s broker notifies the depositary bank that ordinary shares have been purchased in the issuer's market and will be delivered to the custodian bank and requests depositary shares to be issued in the investor’s account.

4.     The custodian notifies the depositary bank that the shares have been credited to the depositary bank’s account.

5.     The depositary bank notifies the investor’s broker that the DRs have been delivered.

6.     The broker then debits the account of the investor for the DR issuance fee.

The Details of a DR Sale by an Investor

1.     An investor instructs his broker to sell his DRs. The investor must deliver the shares within 3 business days if the shares are not in the street name of the broker.

2.     The broker can either sell the shares on the exchanges where the DR trades, or the DRs can be canceled, and converted into the ordinary shares of the issuing company.

3.     If the broker sells the shares on an exchange, then the broker uses the services of a broker in the issuer's market.

4.     If, instead, the shares are canceled, then the broker will deliver the shares to the depositary bank for cancellation and provide instructions for the delivery of the ordinary shares of the company issuer. The investor pays the cancelation fees and any other applicable fees.

5.     The depositary bank instructs the custodian bank to deliver the ordinary shares to the investor’s broker, who then credits the account of its customer.

Types

A.   ADR

1.     American Depository Receipts popularly known as ADRs were introduced in the American market in 1927.

2.     ADR is a security issued by a company outside the U.S. which physically remains in the country of issue, usually in the custody of a bank, but is traded on U.S. stock exchanges.

3.     ADR is a security that trades in the United States but represents a specified number of shares in a foreign corporation.

4.     ADRs are one or more units of a foreign security traded in American market. They are traded just like regular stocks of other corporate but are issued / sponsored in the U.S. by a bank or brokerage. 

5.     ADRs were introduced with a view to simplify the physical handling and legal technicalities governing foreign securities as a result of the complexities involved in buying shares in foreign countries.

6.     Trading in foreign securities is prone to number of difficulties like different prices and in different currency values, which keep in changing almost on daily basis. In view of such problems, U.S. banks found a simple methodology wherein they purchase a bulk lot of shares from foreign company and then bundle these shares into groups, and reissue them and get these quoted on American stock markets.

7.     For the American public ADRs simplify investing. So when Americans purchase Infy (the Infosys Technologies ADR) stocks listed on Nasdaq, they do so directly in dollars, without converting them from rupees. Such companies are required to declare financial results according to a standard accounting principle, thus, making their earnings more transparent.

8.     An American investor holding an ADR does not have voting rights in the company.

9.     ADRs are issued to offer investment routes that avoid the expensive and cumbersome laws that apply sometimes to non-citizens buying shares on local exchanges.

10.                        ADRs are listed on the NYSE, AMEX, or NASDAQ

Advantages of ADRs

1.     ADRs can be bought and sold just like shares of IBM or Coca-Cola.

2.     You don't need a foreign brokerage account or a new broker; you can use the same broker that you normally deal with.

3.     Prices for ADRs are quoted in U.S. dollars, and dividends are paid in dollars.

4.     ADRs trade during U.S. market hours and are subject to similar clearing and settlement procedures as American stocks.

5.     You can customize your portfolio however you like, depending on which countries or sectors you are interested in.

Disadvantages of ADRs

1.     By the same token, ADRs have some important limitations and drawbacks.

2.     Limited selection: Not all foreign companies are available as ADRs. For example, Japan's Toyota Motor has an ADR, but Germany's BMW does not.

3.     Liquidity: Plenty of companies have ADR programs available, but some may be very thinly traded.

4.     Exchange rate risk: While ADRs are priced in dollars, for sake of convenience, your investment is still exposed to fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies.

5.     Because ADRs are like stocks, you need to buy enough of them to ensure adequate diversification. So if you don't have enough investment capital to spread around, say 25 to 30 ADRs (or more), you won't be able to create a truly diversified portfolio on your own.

Companies that have issued ADRs are:

1.     Dr. Reddys

2.     HDFC Bank

3.     ICICI Bank

4.     Infosys Technologies

5.     MTNL

6.     Patni Computers

7.     Tata Motors

8.     VSNL

9.     WIPRO

B.   GDR

GDRs similar to the ADR but are  usually listed on exchanges outside the U.S., such as Luxembourg or London. Dividends are usually paid in U.S. dollars. The first GDR was issued in 1990.

1.     Global depositary receipts are certificates held in depository banks used to purchase shares of foreign companies; these receipts represent the number of shares owned in a particular company. (Depositary banks are international institutions whose purpose is to distribute and manage global depositary receipts.)

2.     The shares are typically traded as domestic shares, but are available for purchase globally.

3.     Corporations usually issue these kinds of depositary receipts to attract foreign investors.

4.     Global depositary receipts often are listed on various international stock exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

5.     A global depositary receipt may equal many shares in a company or fractions of shares.

6.     The receipt's value is based on the market price of the shares. If the receipt is valued higher than a single stock, it would represent ownership of multiple stocks, for example. The receipts typically are priced to be competitive with market stock values.

Advantages of GDR

1.     GDRs, like ADRs, allow investors to invest in foreign companies without worrying about foreign trading practices, different laws, or cross-border transactions.

2.     GDRs offer most of the same corporate rights, especially voting rights, to the holders of GDRs that investors of the underlying securities enjoy.

3.     Other benefits include Easier trading, the payment of dividends in the GDR currency, which is usually the United States dollar (USD)

4.     Corporate notifications, such as shareholders’ meetings and rights offerings, are in English.

5.     Another major benefit to GDRs is that institutional investors can buy them, even when they may be restricted by law or investment objective from buying shares of foreign companies.

6.     GDRs also overcome limits on restrictions on foreign ownership or the movement of capital that may be imposed by the country of the corporate issuer, avoids risky settlement procedures, and eliminates local or transfer taxes that would otherwise be due if the company’s shares were bought or sold directly.

7.     There are also no foreign custody fees, which can range from 10 to 35 basis points per year for foreign stock bought directly.

8.     GDRs are liquid because the supply and demand can be regulated by creating or canceling GDR shares.

9.     The main benefit to GDR issuance to the company is increased visibility in the target markets, which usually garners increased research coverage in the new markets; a larger and more diverse shareholder base; and the ability to raise more capital in international markets.

Disadvantage of GDRs

GDRs have foreign exchange risk if the currency of the issuer is different from the currency of the GDR, which is usually USD.

Companies that have issued GDRs:

1.     Dr. Reddys

2.     Bajaj Auto

3.     HDFC Bank

4.     Hindalco

5.     ICICI Bank

6.     Infosys Technologies

7.     ITC

8.     L&T

9.     MTNL

10.                        Ranbaxy Laboratories

11.                        State Bank of India

12.                        VSNL

13.                        WIPRO

C.   IDRs

1.     An IDR is a mechanism that allows investors in India to invest in listed foreign companies, including multinational companies, in Indian rupees.

2.     IDRs give the holder the opportunity to hold an interest in equity shares in an overseas company.

3.     IDRs are denominated in Indian Rupees and issued by a Domestic Depository in India.

4.     They can be listed on any Indian stock exchange. In other words, what ADRs/GDRs are for investors abroad with respect to Indian companies, IDRs are for Indian investors with respect to foreign companies.

5.     Each IDR represents proportional ownership interest in a fixed number of underlying equity shares of the issuer company. For example, in the recently concluded IDR issue of Standard Chartered Bank, 10 IDRs represent 1 equity share of the the Bank.

6.     The principal parties in the IDR issue are the issuer company, the Overseas Custodian, the Domestic Depository and the Registrar & Transfer Agent.

7.     Similar to an IPO in India, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), Non-Institutional Investors (NII) like Corporate, high networth Individuals (HNIs) and Non-resident Indians, retail Individual Investors and employees can participate in IDR issue.

8.     An IDR holder is entitled to rights similar to an equity share holder like voting, bonus and right issues, dividends and other rights as other equity shareholders are eligible. In any case, rights and obligations of the IDR holders will be specified in the Deposit Agreement.

9.     Tax treatment on IDRs

a.     Trading of IDRs- Securities transaction tax (STT) is not applicable on trading of IDRs and thus capital gain transfer of IDRs will be applicable.

b.    Dividends-The issuer company doesn’t pay dividend distribution tax and hence dividends received on account of holding IDRs will be payable by IDR holders.

Advantages of IDRs:

1.    For Indian Investors and Rights

a.    No resident Indian individual can hold more than $200,000 worth of foreign securities purchased per year as per Indian foreign exchange regulations. However, this will not be applicable for IDRs which gives Indian residents the chance to invest in an Indian listed foreign entity.

b.    Additional key requisites for investing in foreign securities such as a securities trading account outside India to hold foreign securities, know your customer norms (KYC) with foreign broker and foreign bank account to hold funds are generally too cumbersome for most Indian investors. Such requirements are avoided in holding IDRs.

c.    Whatever benefits accrue to the shares, by way of dividend, rights, splits or bonuses would be passed on to IDR holders also, to the extent permissible under Indian law. 

2.    For International Issuers

1. It provides enhanced local branding and target business opportunities in India.
2. It gives access to the large Indian capital pool and creates opportunities for future fund raising.
3. It provides a currency for any acquisition in India which otherwise would be possible only through cash.

Disadvantages of IDRs

There is the possibility of IDR issues being undersubscribed if they are not well marketed or fail to catch the imagination of investors.  In addition, the challenges mentioned below are certain challenges with respect to the issuance of IDRs.

1.    Stringent eligibility norms: The stringent eligibility criteria, disclosure and corporate governance norms (Although in the investor’s interests, they compare unfavourably with listing norms on other tier II global exchanges such as Luxembourg, London’s Alternate Investment Market (AIM) and Dubai. This could result in higher compliance costs for companies seeking to tap the Indian capital markets).

2.    Voting Rights:  It is not entirely clear whether IDR holders will have voting rights or not – the SEBI guidelines do not specifically mention voting rights, it leaves that to the discretion of the issuer.

3.    Market:  Indian financial markets are still considered volatile and contain emerging market risk.

Companies that have issued IDRs:
Standard Chartered PLC

D.   EDR

1.    A European depositary receipt (EDR) is also known as a global depository receipt.

2.    A European depositary receipt is a negotiable certificate meaning that either the price or other terms of the agreement can be negotiated.

3.    Another example of a negotiable certificate is that it can be transferred to another party in lieu of a cash payment.

4.    The European bank that is representing the securities to be traded will issue the European depositary receipt, however, these receipts originate from outside the bank's country of origin.

5.    Banks and countries such as the USA use these receipts in order to attract the European investments.

6.    European depositary receipts can also be called Euro depositary notes but they do not have to be issued in European currency.

7.    The European depositary Receipt is the equivalent of an ADR or American depositary receipt in the USA.

8.    Investors in the European depositary receipt would be entitled to the same benefits as the investors in common shares in the same country.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS --ANSWER

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS --ANSWER

MERGERS - A merger occurs when two companies combine to form a single company. A merger is very similar to an acquisition or takeover, except that in the case of a merger existing stockholders of both companies involved retain a shared interest in the new corporation. By contrast, in an acquisition one company purchases a bulk of a second company's stock, creating an uneven balance of ownership in the new combined company.
The entire merger process is usually kept secret from the general public, and often from the majority of the employees at the involved companies. Since the majority of merger attempts do not succeed, and most are kept secret, it is difficult to estimate how many potential mergers occur in a given year. It is likely that the number is very high, however, given the amount of successful mergers and the desirability of mergers for many companies.
Merger may be sought for a number of reasons, some of which are beneficial to the shareholders, some of which are not. One use of the merger, for example, is to combine a very profitable company with a losing company in order to use the losses as a tax write-off to offset the profits, while expanding the corporation as a whole.
Increasing one's market share is another major use of the merger, particularly amongst large corporations. By merging with major competitors, a company can come to dominate the market they compete in, giving them a freer hand with regard to pricing and buyer incentives. This form of merger may cause problems when two dominating companies merge, as it may trigger litigation regarding monopoly laws.
Another type of popular merger brings together two companies that make different, but complementary, products. This may also involve purchasing a company which controls an asset your company utilizes somewhere in its supply chain. Major manufacturers buying out a warehousing chain in order to save on warehousing costs, as well as making a profit directly from the purchased business, is a good example of this. PayPal's merger with eBay is another good example, as it allowed eBay to avoid fees they had been paying, while tying two complementary products together.
A merger is usually handled by an investment banker, who aids in transferring ownership of the company through the strategic issuance and sale of stock. Some have alleged that this relationship causes some problems, as it provides an incentive for investment banks to push existing clients towards a merger even in cases where it may not be beneficial for the stockholders.
Mergers may be of several types, depending on the requirements of the merging entities:Horizontal Mergers. Also referred to as a ‘horizontal integration’, this kind of merger takes place between entities engaged in competing businesses which are at the same stage of the industrial process. A horizontal merger takes a company a step closer towards monopoly by eliminating a competitor and establishing a stronger presence in the market. The other benefits of this form of merger are the advantages of economies of scale and economies of scope.Vertical Mergers. Vertical mergers refer to the combination of two entities at different stages of the industrial or production process. For example, the merger of a company engaged in the construction business with a company engaged in production of brick or steel would lead to vertical integration. Companies stand to gain on account of lower transaction costs and synchronization of demand and supply. Moreover, vertical integration helps a company move towards greater independence and self-sufficiency. The downside of a vertical merger involves large investments in technology in order to compete effectively.Congeneric Mergers. These are mergers between entities engaged in the same general industry and somewhat interrelated, but having no common customer-supplier relationship. A company uses this type of merger in order to use the resulting ability to use the same sales and distribution channels to reach the customers of both businesses.3Conglomerate Mergers. A conglomerate merger is a merger between two entities in unrelated industries. The principal reason for a conglomerate merger is utilization of financial resources, enlargement of debt capacity, and increase in the value of outstanding shares by increased leverage and earnings per share, and by lowering the average cost of capital.4 A merger with a diverse business also helps the company to foray into varied businesses without having to incur large start-up costs normally associated with a new business.Cash Merger. In a typical merger, the merged entity combines the assets of the two companies and grants the shareholders of each original company shares in the new company based on the relative valuations of the two original companies. However, in the case of a ‘cash merger’, also known as a ‘cash-out merger’, the shareholders of one entity receive cash in place of shares in the merged entity. This is a common practice in cases where the shareholders of one of the merging entities do not want to be a part of the merged entity.Triangular Merger. A triangular merger is often resorted to for regulatory and tax reasons. As the name suggests, it is a tripartite arrangement in which the target merges with a subsidiary of the acquirer. Based on  which entity is the survivor after such merger, a triangular merger may be forward (when the target merges into the subsidiary and the subsidiary survives), or reverse (when the subsidiary merges into the target and the target survives).AcquisitionDefinition: The purchase of one corporation by another, through either the purchase of its shares, or the purchase of its assets There's only one real way to achieve massive growth literally overnight, and that's by buying somebody else's company. Acquisition has become one of the most popular ways to grow today. Since 1990, the annual number of mergers and acquisitions has doubled, meaning that this is the most popular era ever for growth by acquisition.Companies choose to grow by acquiring others to increase market share, to gain access to promising new technologies, to achieve synergies in their operations, to tap well-developed distribution channels, to obtain control of undervalued assets, and a myriad of other reasons. But acquisition can be risky because many things can go wrong with even a well-laid plan to grow by acquiring: Cultures may clash, key employees may leave, synergies may fail to emerge, assets may be less valuable than perceived, and costs may skyrocket rather than fall. Still, perhaps because of the appeal of instant growth, acquisition is an increasingly common way to expand……In an acquisition, as in some of the merger deals we discuss above, a company can buy another company with cash, stock or a combination of the two. Another possibility, which is common in smaller deals, is for one company to acquire all the assets of another company. Company X buys all of Company Y's assets for cash, which means that Company Y will have only cash (and debt, if they had debt before). Of course, Company Y becomes merely a shell and will eventually liquidate or enter another area of business.

An acquisition it is when one company takes over another and clearly established itself as the new owner. For example Google's largest acquisition as of March 2008 is the purchase of DoubleClik which is an advertising company.Friendly takeover. Also commonly referred to as ‘negotiated takeover’, a friendly takeover involves an acquisition of the target company through negotiations between the existing promoters and prospective investors. This kind of takeover is resorted to further some common objectives of both the parties.Hostile Takeover. A hostile takeover can happen by way of any of the following actions: if the board rejects the offer, but the bidder continues to pursue it or the bidder makes the offer without informing the board beforehand.Leveraged Buyouts. These are a form of takeovers where the acquisition is funded by borrowed money. Often the assets of the target company are used as collateral for the loan. This is a common structure when acquirers wish to make large acquisitions without having to commit too much capital, and hope to make the acquired business service the debt so raised.Bailout Takeovers. Another form of takeover is a ‘bail out takeover’ in which a profit making company acquires a sick company. This kind of takeover is usually pursuant to a scheme of reconstruction/rehabilitation with the approval of lender banks/financial institutions. One of the primary motives for a profit making company to acquire a sick/loss making company would be to set off of the losses of the sick company against the profits of the acquirer, thereby reducing the tax payable by the acquirer. This would be true in the case of a merger between such companies as well.
Example:·         The merger of British Petroleum (BP) with Amoco (erstwhile Standard Oil of Indiana)·         The acquisition of Mannesmann AG by Vodafone Airtouch PLC·         The merger of Exxon with Mobil
·         (The name of the company formed as a result of the merger is ExxonMobil)·         The acquisition of AirTouch Communications by the Vodafone Group·         The acquisition of Compaq by Hewlett-Packard·         The acquisition of Shell Transport & Trading Company by Royal Dutch Petroleum Company·         The merger of Bank One Corporation with JPMorgan Chase & Company The easiest task in management is buying another business. You only need to identify the target, work out how much you want to pay, and make your offer. True, complications may follow. The other party may resist, forcing you into a costly takeover battle. Investors may not take kindly to the proposal. But since some investors (those in the target business) will benefit, you will not be acting in a uniformly hostile climate. Like BMW buying Rover, or Daimler-Benz buying Chrysler, or Ford buying Volvo cars, you can hope to complete the transaction to general hosannas.As the BMW-Rover case has shown so dramatically, the cheering can soon change to jeering. BMW has invested £2.8 billion in a business which at last report was losing £360,000 annually. Doing the deal, the easy part, leads directly into making the merger or acquisition work, which can be very hard indeed. The difficulty starts with the strategic objective. Why do you want the other business in the first place? If the objective is wrongly chosen, the next logical question, whether the chosen purchase will help to achieve that aim, is irrelevant. The deal is bound to fail.

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2004-2005	› S&P acquires 3,120,948 equity shares of CRISIL from CRISIL shareholders through an Open Offer taking S&P holding in CRISIL to 58.46% › CRISIL Board approves proposal to acquire Irevna group of companies
2006	› CRISIL transfers assets and staff of CRISIL MarketWire to TV18 › CRISIL constitutes a new team to achieve greater integration with Standard & Poor's (S&P) in brand franchise, market development and sales efforts. › Irevna ranked the top investment research outsourcing firm by buy-side firms according to a recent survey by the Brown-Wilson Group; sets up second delivery centre in Buenos Aires › Inter-company agreements signed between CRISIL and Standard & Poor's - CRISIL now known as a Standard & Poor's Company
2007	› CRISIL transfers its advisory business (CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory and CRISIL Investment & Risk Management Services) into a 100% subsidiary CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solutions Limited. › CRISIL's subsidiaries CRISIL Research & Information Services Limited (CRIS), Global Data Services of India Limited, CRISIL Properties Limited and Irevna Research Services Limited merged into CRISIL Limited (CRISIL). › Ms. Roopa Kudva takes over as Managing Director & CEO of CRISIL following Mr. R. Ravimohan's appointment as Managing Director & Region Head of Standard & Poor's South Asia
2008	› CRISIL announces sale of shareholding in Gas Strategies Group Ltd. › CRISIL launches its formal sustainable development programme for Corporate Social Responsibility › Launches the CRISIL Complexity Levels Service - an initiative aimed at strengthening Indian capital markets through greater transparenct for investors
2009	› CRISIL launches independent equity research › Assigned over 7400 new ratings in 2009 including 2268 Bank Loan Ratings (BLRs), and 5178 Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ratings › Launched a first-of-its-kind publication, India's Top 50 Microfinance Institutions, profiling the leading microfinance institutions in India