The number of Indian companies listed on the London Stock Exchange is expected to

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jump by 20 per cent, Grant Thornton, a leading business and financial adviser, has predicted.

At present 30 Indian companies are listed on the LSE and Grant Thornton is preparing to welcome another six Indian firms to the market, a sign that current economic difficultly in the UK is not dissuading Indian business leaders from raising fund in London.

The firm's quarterly 'India Watch', launched in conjunction with the LSE, monitors the UK-India business relationship through both cross border mergers and acquisitions between India and the UK and the performance of Indian firms listed on the LSE, with a tracker that focuses on the performance of the Main Market and AIM versus listed Indian firms since January 1 2007.

The index reveals Indian companies listed on the LSE are now collectively outperforming both the FTSE 100 and the AIM 100 by a wide margin, with the India Index up 34 per cent since January 1 2007, while the FTSE 100 is down 15 per cent and AIM 100 is down 13 per cent.

The prospective listings come from a variety of sectors including bio-engineering, mining and several media companies.

These firms, expected to raise between 10 million pounds and 250 million pounds each, will take the present number of Indian companies with full London listings from 30 to 36, a jump of 20 per cent through Grant Thornton alone, with further interest expected to boost this number before the end of the calendar year. Indian companies listed on LSE's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) launch initial public offerings in London because it offers them a wide pool of investors and makes it easier to raise finance for acquisitions in the UK and Europe.

Anuj Chande, head of Grant Thornton's South Asia Group, said that since the listing of Indian energy and mining major Vedanta Resources in December 2003, there had been a steady stream of Indian IPOs with a total of 30 firms now listed on both the Main Market (five firms) and the AIM market (25 firms).

He said, "India is vying to be both the most prolific and most successful nation on the LSE and all indicators point to this soon becoming a reality. A sustained economic boom within the subcontinent and the many perceived benefits for Indian firms that come with a London listing are key drivers in this process."

Chande pointed to poor domestic markets, access to a greater and wider investor base, international focus, the prestige of a London listing and the profile raising that comes with it as driving the number of Indian firms exploring a London IPO.