New Rules for India Shadow Banks May Put Tata Sons IPO on Radar

A tweak by India’s central bank to the definition of shadow lenders has potentially revived the debate about whether Tata Sons Pvt. — the controller of one of the country’s largest conglomerates — could be forced to list in the near future.

The Reserve Bank of India this week said shadow lenders that are accepting money from associates and group entities will be counted as having indirect access to public funds. The acceptance of such funds means that Tata Sons, which overlooks the steel-to-semiconductor empire, might have to go for an initial public offering to adhere to the regulator’s new rules that take effect from July 1.