For growing SME companies seeking to raise capital, an SME listing can be a superior route to growth. SME stock exchange platforms provide a great opportunity to the SME entrepreneurs to raise equity capital for growth and expansion. SME listings help unleash the valuation of SME companies, and in the process, create wealth for all the stakeholders, besides enormous income tax benefits. The SME listing window of opportunity is now open for SMEs; however, advance preparation and planning is critical. Lack of preparation and proper planning can jeopardize an SME IPO. SME listing and bringing IPO is a long process and involves enormous amount of work and planning like building an equity story, strong financial results, timely and accurate financial & accounting information, strong internal controls, qualified management team, corporate governance, and investor’s relations.

SME stock exchange platforms provide enormous benefits to SMEs like greater access to funds easily and quickly in an efficient & credible manner, business value creation, wealth creation, scaling up globally, extensive tax savings, lower debt burden, easy & tax efficient
entry and exit for PE /VC/angel

investors, corporate image building, national & international branding, greater credibility and many more.

Begin the preparation of listing process early enough so that your prelisted company acts and operates like a public company before the IPO

This is where Global CFO,a specialized IPO advisory firm, steps in. CA Rajan Bhatia (Founder & Director, Global CFO), a renowned IPO advisor helps SMEs to transform into successful and wealthy public listed companies that continually deliver maximum value to its shareholders. Global CFO possesses the expertise in rendering organizations with the right guidance to achieve the desired growth through its IPO centric services such as IPO advisory and strategy consulting.

“Going public provides SMEs with the equity financing opportunities to grow their business from operations to expansion to inorganic acquisitions and achieve enhanced value creations,” elaborates Rajan on the various key advantages of SME listings. Acting as an effective tax planning tool, listed shares come with a host of benefits, as tax on long term capital gains is 10 percent and short term capital gains is 15 percent. Global CFO also aids SME promoters to distribute the risk of business efficiently by expansion of the investor’s base, which in turn helps companies get secondary market for equity financing, including private

placement. Instead of a direct cash offering, using shares for an acquisition can be a tax-efficient and cost-effective vehicle to finance such a transaction.

Global CFO not only helps SMEs magnetize diversified group of investors by drafting easier & efficient entry & exit platforms, but also achieve corporate image creation, better visibility and strong brand building through media & research coverage by sector investment analysts. Rajan further elucidates, "SME listing on stock exchange can facilitate growth through strategic investments and SME Mergers & Acquisitions". It also works as an incentive mechanism for employees and renders companies with strong corporate governance & financial controls. It ensures that the company has drawn up the internal control systems and set up minimum required framework of corporate governance, which renders sustainability to the business.

The firm suggests its clients to commit substantial resources to the IPO process and build the quality management team, robust financial & business infrastructure, corporate governance and investor’s relation strategy that will attract the right investors. "Begin the preparation of listing process early enough so that your prelisted company acts and operates like a public company before the IPO," adds Rajan. He also advises them not to underestimate the amount of time the IPO journey will take or the level of accountability and corporate governance required by a public limited company. With immense scrutiny, Global CFO strives hard to the make each of its undertaken projects a success.