Shapoor Mistry backs Tata Sons listing, calls it opportunity for greater accountability

Shapoorji Pallonji Group Chairman Shapoor Mistry welcomed the RBI’s decision requiring Tata Sons to comply with upper-layer NBFC regulations. He said the move could improve transparency, governance and accountability, while potentially paving the way for Tata Sons’ public listing and supporting charitable activities

New Delhi: Shapoorji Pallonji Group Chairman Shapoor Mistry has welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s decision requiring Tata Sons to comply with regulations governing upper-layer non-bank financial companies, saying the move could mark a turning point for transparency and accountability at the holding company of the Tata group.

Mistry, whose family’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group owns about 18.4 per cent of Tata Sons, said the RBI’s decision had provided “full clarity” and that he looked forward to working constructively with Tata Sons and the Tata Trusts on the company’s future.

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The RBI rejected Tata Sons’ application to surrender its registration as a core investment company on September 11 and directed it to take steps to comply with the applicable regulatory framework.

The decision puts the group’s holding company on a path toward a public listing after years of efforts to retain its privately held status

“This landmark decision should not be viewed as a victory of one stakeholder over another,” Mistry said in a statement.

“The listing of Tata Sons can become a bridge” between shareholders and the Tata Trusts and between private ownership and public accountability.

Mistry said public accountability should not come at the expense of Tata’s philanthropic mission.

He argued that a listed Tata Sons could provide greater visibility into the value of the holding company, strengthen governance and create a more durable flow of value toward the Tata Trusts’ charitable activities.