Excel India begins trading on Toronto Stock Exchange

Excel India Trust on Thursday began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange after completing an initial public offering of 4.5 million units of the trust at a price of $10 per unit, yielding a gross proceeds of $45 million.

The Trust's stocks will be traded under the symbol EXI.UN after it completed the IPO on Wednesday.

The trust has granted the agents for the offering an over-allotment option to acquire additional units exercisable at any time during the next 30 days.

It has been designed to provide investors with the exposure of equity securities of Indian companies. It uses an efficient tax structure designed to minimize Indian withholding taxes on capital gains and avoid certain investment restrictions that would otherwise apply to foreign investors investing in India.

The Trust's investment objectives are: to provide holders of units with quarterly distributions (initially targeted to be 12.5 cent a unit per quarter or 5 per cent per year based on the offering price of $10 a unit) and long-term capital appreciation.

The syndicate of agents for this offering was co-led by CIBC World Markets Inc. And RBC Capital Markets, and included BMO Capital Markets, National Bank Financial Inc, Scotia Capital Inc, TD Securities Inc, Canaccord Capital Corp, Dundee Securities Corp, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc, Raymond James Ltd, Desjardins Securities Inc, Berkshire Securities Inc, Blackmont Capital Inc, IPC Securities Corp, Richardson Partners Financial Limited and Wellington West Capital Inc.

Excel Funds Management Inc is a specialised fund management company that focuses exclusively on investment opportunities in emerging markets. It currently has $600 million (appx) assets under management.