DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
Exhibit
(a)(ii)
Execution
Copy
by and
among
GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LIMITED
AND
CITIBANK,
N.A.,
as
Depositary,
AND
THE
HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS
OF
GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES EVIDENCED BY
GLOBAL
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ISSUED HEREUNDER
Dated as
of September 17, 1999
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
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ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS
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2
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SECTION
1.1
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"Affiliate"
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2
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SECTION
1.2
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"Beneficial
Owner"
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2
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SECTION
1.3
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"Business
Xxx"
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0
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SECTION
1.4
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"Commission"
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2
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SECTION
1.5
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"Company"
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3
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SECTION
1.6
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"Custodian"
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3
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SECTION
1.7
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"Deliver"
and "Delivery"
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3
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SECTION
1.8
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3
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SECTION
1.9
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"Depositary"
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3
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SECTION
1.10
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"Deposited
Securities"
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3
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SECTION
1.11
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"Dollars"
and "$"
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4
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SECTION
1.12
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"DTC"
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4
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SECTION
1.13
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"DTC
Participant"
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4
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SECTION
1.14
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"Exchange
Act"
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4
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SECTION
1.15
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"Foreign
Currency"
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4
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SECTION
1.16
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"GDS
Record Date"
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4
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SECTION
1.17
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"Global
Depositary Share(s)" and "GDSs)"
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5
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SECTION
1.19
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"Indian
Legend"
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5
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SECTION
1.20
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"Initial
Deposit"
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5
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SECTION
1.21
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"Partial
Entitlement Legend"
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5
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SECTION
1.22
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"Pre-Release
Transaction"
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6
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SECTION
1.23
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"Principal
Office"
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6
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SECTION
1.24
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"Receipt(s)";
"Global Depositary Receipt(s)" and "GDR(s)"
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6
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SECTION
1.25
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"Registrar"
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6
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SECTION
1.26
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"Restricted
Securities"
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7
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SECTION
1.27
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"Rupees"
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7
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SECTION
1.28
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"Scheme
of Arrangement"
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7
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SECTION
1.29
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"Securities
Act"
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7
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SECTION
1.30
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"Share
Xxxxxxxxx".
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0
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SECTION
1.31
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"Shares"
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8
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SECTION
1.32
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"United
States"
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8
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ARTICLE II |
APPOINTMENT
OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS; DEPOSIT
OF SHARES; EXECUTION AND DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER
OF RECEIPTS
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8
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SECTION
2.1
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Appointment
of Depositary
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8
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SECTION
2.2
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Form
and Transferability of Receipts
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9
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SECTION
2.3
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Deposit
with Custodian
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11
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SECTION
2.4
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Registration
of Shares
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14
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i
SECTION
2.5
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Execution
and Delivery of Receipts
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15
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SECTION
2.6
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Transfer
of Receipts; Combination and Split-up of Receipts
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16
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SECTION
2.7
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Surrender
of GDSs and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities
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17
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SECTION
2.8
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Limitations
on Execution and Delivery, Transfer, etc. of Receipts;
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Suspension
of Delivery, Transfer, etc.
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19
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SECTION
2.9
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Lost
Receipts, etc
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21
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SECTION
2.10
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Cancellation
and Destruction of Surrendered Receipts; Maintenance of
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Records
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22
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SECTION
2.11
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Partial
Entitlement GDSs
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22
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ARTICLE III |
CERTAIN
OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL
OWNERS
OF RECEIPTS
|
23
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SECTION
3.1
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Proofs,
Certificates and Other Information
|
23
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SECTION
3.2
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Liability
for Taxes and Other Charges
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24
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SECTION
3.3
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Representations
and Warranties on Deposit of Shares
|
25
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SECTION
3.4
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Compliance
with Information Requests
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26
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SECTION
3.5
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Ownership
Restrictions
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26
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ARTICLE IV |
THE
DEPOSITED SECURITIES
|
27
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SECTION
4.1
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Cash
Distributions
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27
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SECTION
4.2
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Distribution
in Shares
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28
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SECTION
4.3
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Elective
Distributions in Cash or Shares
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30
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SECTION
4.4
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Distribution
of Rights to Purchase Shares
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31
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SECTION
4.5
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Distributions
Other Than Cash, Shares or Rights to Purchase Shares.
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33
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SECTION
4.6
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Distributions
with Respect to Deposited Securities in Bearer Form
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35
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SECTION
4.7
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Xxxxxxxxxx/Xxxxxxxxxx
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00
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SECTION
4.8
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Fixing
of GDS Record Date
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37
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SECTION
4.9
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Voting
of Deposited Securities
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38
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SECTION
4.10
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Changes
Affecting Deposited Securities
|
39
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SECTION
4.11
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Available
Information
|
40
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SECTION
4.12
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Reports
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40
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SECTION
4.13
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List
of Holders
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41
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SECTION
4.14
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Taxation
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41
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ARTICLE V |
THE
DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY
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SECTION
5.1
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Maintenance
of Office and Transfer Books by the Xxxxxxxxx
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00
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SECTION
5.2
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Exoneration
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44
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SECTION
5.3
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Standard
of Care
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45
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SECTION
5.4
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Resignation
and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment
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of
Successor Depositary
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46
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SECTION
5.5
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The
Custodian
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48
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SECTION
5.6
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Notices
and Reports
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49
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SECTION
5.7
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Issuance
of Additional Shares, GDSs etc
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50
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SECTION
5.8
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Indemnification
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52
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ii
SECTION
5.9
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Fees
and Charges of Depositary
|
53
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SECTION
5.10
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Pre-Release
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54
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SECTION
5.11
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Restricted
Securities Owners
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56
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ARTICLE VI |
AMENDMENT
AND TERMINATION
|
56
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SECTION
6.1
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Amendment/Supplement
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56
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SECTION
6.2
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Termination
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57
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ARTICLE VII |
MISCELLANEOUS
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59
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SECTION
7.1
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Counterparts
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59
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SECTION
7.2
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No
Third-Party Beneficiaries
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59
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SECTION
7.3
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Severability
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60
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SECTION
7.4
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Holders
and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect
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60
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SECTION
7.5
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Notices
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60
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SECTION
7.6
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Governing
Law and Jurisdiction
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62
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SECTION
7.7
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Assignment
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64
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SECTION
7.8
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Compliance
with U.S. Securities Laws
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64
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SECTION
7.9
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Titles
|
64
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iii
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, dated as of
September 17, 1999, by and among (i) Grasim Industries Limited, a public company
with limited liability incorporated under the laws of India, and its successors
(the "Company"), (ii) CITIBANK, N.A., a national banking association organized
under the laws of the United States of America acting in its capacity as
depositary, and any successor depositary hereunder (the "Depositary"), and (iii)
all Holders and Beneficial Owners of Global Depositary Shares evidenced by
Global Depositary Receipts issued hereunder (all such capitalized terms as
hereinafter defined).
W
I T N E S S E T H T H A T:
WHEREAS, the Company has duly
authorized and has outstanding equity shares, nominal value of 10 Rupees each
(the "Shares"), which are listed for trading on The Stock Exchange, Mumbai and
on certain other stock exchanges in India (together, the "Indian Stock
Exchanges"); and
WHEREAS, the Company desires
to establish with the Depositary a GDR facility to provide for the deposit of
the Shares and the creation of Global Depositary Shares representing the Shares
so deposited and for the execution and delivery of Global Depositary Receipts
evidencing such Global Depositary Shares; and
WHEREAS, the Depositary is
willing to act as the Depositary for such facility upon the terms set forth in
this Deposit Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Global Depositary
Receipts evidencing the Global Depositary Shares issued pursuant to the terms of
this Deposit Agreement are to be substantially in the form of Exhibit A attached
hereto, with appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions, as hereinafter
provided in this Deposit Agreement; and
1
WHEREAS, the Board of
Directors of the Company (or an authorized committee thereof) has duly approved
the establishment of a GDR facility upon the terms set forth in this Deposit
Agreement, the execution and delivery of this Deposit Agreement on behalf of the
Company, and the actions of the Company and the transactions contemplated
herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the premises, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
All
capitalized terms used, but not otherwise defined, herein shall have the
meanings set forth below, unless otherwise clearly indicated:
SECTION
1.1 "Affiliate" shall have
the meaning assigned to such term by the Commission (as hereinafter defined)
under Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act (as
hereinafter defined).
SECTION
1.2 "Beneficial Owner"
shall mean as to any GDS, any person or entity having a beneficial interest
deriving from the ownership of such GDS. A Beneficial Owner may or
may not be the Holder of the GDR(s) evidencing such GDSs. A
Beneficial Owner shall be able to exercise any right or receive any benefit
hereunder solely through the person who is the Holder of the GDR(s) evidencing
the GDSs owned by such Beneficial Owner.
SECTION
1.3 "Business Day" shall
mean any day on which banks in both Mumbai, India and New York are open for
business.
SECTION
1.4 "Commission" shall
mean the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States or any
successor governmental agency in the United States.
2
SECTION
1.5 "Company" shall mean
Grasim Industries Limited, a company incorporated and existing under the laws of
India, having its registered office at Birlagram, Nagda 456331, Madhya Pradesh,
India, and its successors.
SECTION
1.6 "Custodian" shall
mean, as of the date hereof, Citibank, N.A. (Mumbai), having its principal
office at Xxxxxxxxxxx Mansion, SIDR Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000, Xxxxx, Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 400 018, as the custodian for the purposes of this Deposit Agreement, and
any other entity that may be appointed by the Depositary pursuant to the terms
of Section 5.5 as successor, substitute or additional custodian hereunder, as
the context shall require. The term "Custodians" shall mean all
custodians, collectively.
SECTION
1.7 "Deliver" and "Delivery" shall mean,
when used in respect of Global Depositary Shares, Receipts, Deposited Securities
and Shares, the physical delivery of the certificate representing such security,
or the electronic delivery of such security by means of book-entry transfer, if
available.
SECTION
1.8 "Deposit Agreement"
shall mean this Deposit Agreement and all exhibits hereto, as the same may from
time to time be amended and supplemented in accordance with the terms
hereof.
SECTION
1.9 "Depositary" shall
mean Citibank, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of
the United States of America, in its capacity as depositary under the terms of
this Deposit Agreement, and any successor depositary hereunder.
SECTION
1.10 "Deposited Securities"
shall mean Shares at any time deposited under this Deposit Agreement and any and
all other securities, property and cash held by the Depositary or the Custodian
in respect thereof, subject, in the case of cash, to the provisions of Section
4.8. The collateral delivered in connection with Pre-Release
Transactions described in Section 5.10 hereof shall not constitute Deposited
Securities.
3
SECTION
1.11 "Dollars" and "$" shall refer to the
lawful currency of the United States.
SECTION
1.12 "DTC" shall mean The
Depository Trust Company, a national clearinghouse and the central book-entry
settlement system for securities traded in the United States and, as such, the
custodian for the securities of DTC Participants (as hereinafter defined)
maintained in DTC, and any successor thereto.
SECTION
1.13 "DTC Participant"
shall mean any financial institution (or any nominee of such institution) having
one or more participant accounts with DTC for receiving, holding and delivering
the securities and cash held in DTC.
SECTION
1.14 "Exchange Act" shall
mean the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as from time to time
amended.
SECTION
1.15 "Foreign Currency"
shall mean currency other than Dollars.
SECTION
1.16 "GDS Record Date"
shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.9.
SECTION
1.17 "Global Depositary
Share(s)" and "GDSs)" Global
Depositary Shares(s) shall mean with respect to any Global Depositary Receipt,
the rights and interests in the Deposited Securities granted to the Holders and
Beneficial Owners pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement
and the Global Depositary Receipts issued hereunder. Each Global
Depositary Share shall represent one equity share, until there shall occur a
distribution upon Deposited Securities referred to in Section 4.2 or a change in
Deposited Securities referred to in Section 4.11 with respect to which
additional Global Depositary Shares are not issued, and thereafter each Global
Depositary Share shall represent" the Shares or Deposited Securities specified
in such Sections.
4
SECTION
1.18 "Holder" shall mean
the person in whose name a Receipt is registered on the books of the Depositary
(or the Registrar, if any) maintained for such purpose. A Holder may
or may not be a Beneficial Owner. If a Holder is not the Beneficial
Owner of the GDSs evidenced by the Receipt registered in its name, such person
shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of the
Beneficial Owners of such GDSs.
SECTION
1.19 "Indian Legend" The
term "Indian Legend" shall mean the following statement:
THE
HOLDER HEREOF, BY PURCHASING THIS SECURITY, AGREES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ISSUER
THAT THIS SECURITY AND THE GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES EVIDENCED HEREBY MAY NOT AT
ANY TIME BE OFFERED OR SOLD DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY TO ANY PERSON IN INDIA OR TO,
OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, A RESIDENT OF INDIA.
SECTION
1.20 "Initial Deposit"
shall mean the deposit of Shares with the Custodian by the Company pursuant to
the Scheme of Arrangement.
SECTION
1.21 "Partial Entitlement
Legend" shall mean the following statement:
THE
RECEIPTS ISSUED IN RESPECT OF PARTIAL ENTITLEMENT GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES SHALL
BEAR THE FOLLOWING LEGEND ON THE FACE OF THE RECEIPT: "THIS RECEIPT EVIDENCES
GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTING 'PARTIAL ENTITLEMENT' EQUITY SHARES OF
GRASIM INDUSTRIES LIMITED AND AS SUCH DO NOT ENTITLE THE HOLDERS THEREOF TO THE
SAME PER-SHARE ENTITLEMENT AS OTHER EQUITY SHARES (WHICH ARE "FULL ENTITLEMENT"
EQUITY SHARES) ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING AT SUCH TIME AS THIS RECEIPT IS
ISSUED. THE GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS RECEIPT
SHALL ENTITLE HOLDERS TO DISTRIBUTIONS AND ENTITLEMENTS IDENTICAL TO OTHER
GLOBAL DEPOSITARY SHARES WHEN THE EQUITY SHARES REPRESENTED BY SUCH GLOBAL
DEPOSITARY SHARES BECOME "FULL ENTITLEMENT" EQUITY SHARES."
5
SECTION
1.22 "Pre-Release
Transaction" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.10
hereof.
SECTION
1.23 "Principal Office"
when used with respect to the Depositary, shall mean the principal office of the
Depositary at which at any particular time its depositary receipts business
shall be administered, which, at the date of this Deposit Agreement, is located
at 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx X0000, U.S.A.
SECTION
1.24 "Receipt(s)"; "Global
Depositary Receipt(s)" and "GDR(s)" shall mean the certificate(s) issued
by the Depositary to evidence the Global Depositary Shares issued under the
terms of this Deposit Agreement, as such Receipts may be amended from time to
time in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement. A
Receipt may evidence any number of Global Depositary Shares and may, in the case
of Global Depositary Shares held through a central depository such as DTC, be in
the form of a "Balance Certificate."
SECTION
1.25 "Registrar" shall mean
the Depositary or any bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of
Manhattan, The City of New York, which shall be appointed by the Depositary to
register issuances and transfers of Receipts as herein provided, and shall
include any co-registrar appointed by the Depositary for such
purposes. Registrars (other than the Depositary) may be removed and
substitutes appointed by the Depositary. Each Registrar (other than
the Depositary) appointed pursuant to this Deposit Agreement shall be required
to give notice in writing to the Depositary accepting such appointment and
agreeing to be bound by the applicable terms of this Deposit
Agreement.
6
SECTION
1.26 "Restricted
Securities" shall mean Shares, or Global Depositary Shares representing
such Shares, which (i) have been acquired directly or indirectly from the
Company or any of its Affiliates in a transaction or chain of transactions not
involving any public offering and subject to resale limitations under the
Securities Act or the rules issued thereunder, or (ii) are held by an officer or
director (or persons performing similar functions) or other Affiliate of the
Company, or (iii) are subject to other restrictions on sale or deposit under the
laws of the United States, India, or under a shareholder agreement or the
Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company or under the regulations
of an applicable securities exchange unless, in each case, such Shares are being
sold to persons other than an Affiliate of the Company in a transaction (i)
covered by an effective resale registration statement or (ii) exempt from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act (as hereinafter defined), and
the Shares are not, when held by such person, Restricted
Securities.
SECTION
1.27 "Rupees" shall refer
to the lawful currency of India.
SECTION
1.28 "Scheme of
Arrangement" shall mean the Scheme of Arrangement among the Company and
Indian Rayon and Industries and their respective shareholders and creditors as
approved by the shareholders of each such company on December 10, 1998 and
December 12, 1998 respectively and to be approved by the relevant high courts in
India prior to it becoming effective.
SECTION
1.29 "Securities Act" shall
mean the United States Securities Act of 1933, as from time to time
amended.
SECTION
1.30 "Share Registrar"
shall mean the Company or a depository institution organized under the laws of
India, which carries out the duties of registrar for the Shares or any successor
as Share Registrar for such Shares appointed by the Company.
7
SECTION
1.31 "Shares" shall mean
the Company's equity shares, nominal value 10 Rupees per share, validly issued
and outstanding and fully paid and may, if the Depositary so agrees after
consultation with the Company, include evidence of the right to receive Shares;
provided that in no event shall Shares include evidence of the right to receive
Shares with respect to which the full purchase price has not been paid or Shares
as to which preemptive rights have theretofore not been validly waived or
exercised; provided further, however, that, if there shall occur any change in
nominal value, split-up, consolidation, reclassification, conversion or any
other event described in Section 4.11 in respect of the Shares of the Company,
the term "Shares" shall thereafter, to the extent permitted by law, represent
the successor securities resulting from such change in nominal value, split-up,
consolidation, exchange, conversion, reclassification or event.
SECTION
1.32 "United States" shall
have the meaning assigned to it in Regulation S as promulgated by the Commission
under the Securities Act.
ARTICLE
II
APPOINTMENT
OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS;
DEPOSIT
OF SHARES; EXECUTION
AND
DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS
SECTION
2.1 Appointment of
Depositary. The Company hereby appoints the Depositary as
depositary for the Deposited Securities and hereby authorizes and directs the
Depositary to act in accordance with the terms set forth in this Deposit
Agreement. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of
any GDSs (or any interest therein) issued in accordance with the terms of this
Deposit Agreement, shall be deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and
bound by the terms of this Deposit Agreement and (b) appoint the Depositary its
attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take
any and all actions contemplated in this Deposit Agreement, to adopt any and all
procedures necessary to comply with applicable law and to take such action as
the Depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry
out the purposes of this Deposit Agreement (the taking of such actions to be the
conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness
thereof).
8
SECTION
2.2 Form and Transferability of
Receipts.
(a) Form. Global
Depositary Shares shall be evidenced by definitive Receipts which shall be
engraved, printed, lithographed or produced in such other manner as may be
agreed upon by the Company and the Depositary. The Receipts shall be
substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit A to this
Deposit Agreement, with any appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions,
in each case, as otherwise contemplated in the Deposit
Agreement. Receipts shall be (i) dated, (ii) signed by the manual or
facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary, (iii)
countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized
signatory of the Registrar, and (iv) registered in the books maintained by the
Registrar for the registration of the issuance and transfer of
Receipts. No Receipt and no Global Depositary Share evidenced thereby
shall be entitled to any benefits under this Deposit Agreement or be valid or
enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company, unless such
Receipt shall have been so dated, signed, countersigned and
registered. Receipts bearing the facsimile signature of a
duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, who at the time of
signature was a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, as
the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding the fact that such
signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the delivery of such Receipt
by the Depositary. The Receipts shall bear a CUSIP number that is
different from any CUSIP number that was, is or may be assigned to any
depositary receipts previously or subsequently issued pursuant to any other
arrangement between the Depositary (or any other depositary) and the Company
which are not Receipts issued hereunder.
9
(b) Legends. The
Receipts may be endorsed with or have incorporated in the text thereof the
Indian Legend, the Partial Entitlement Legend (if required by Section 2.11) and
such other legends or recitals or changes not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Deposit Agreement (i) as may be necessary to enable the Depositary to
perform its obligations hereunder, (ii) as may be required to comply with any
applicable law or regulations, or with the rules and regulations of any
securities exchange or market upon which Global Depositary Shares may be traded,
listed or quoted or to conform with any usage with respect thereto, (iii) as may
be necessary to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any
particular Receipts or GDSs are subject by reason of the date of issuance of the
Deposited Securities or otherwise, or (iv) as may be required by any book-entry
system in which the GDSs are held.
(c) Title. Subject
to the limitations contained herein and in the Receipt, title to a Receipt (and
to each GDS evidenced thereby) shall be transferable by delivery of the Receipt
with the same effect as a certificated security under the laws of the State of
New York, provided that such Receipt has been properly endorsed or is
accompanied by proper instruments of transfer. Notwithstanding any
notice to the contrary, the Depositary and the Company may deem and treat the
Holder of a Receipt (that is, the person in whose name a Receipt is registered
on the books of the Depositary) as the absolute owner thereof for all
purposes. The Depositary and the Company shall have no obligation nor
be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement or any Receipt to any
holder of a Receipt or any Beneficial Owner unless such holder is the Holder of
such Receipt registered on the books of the Depositary or, in the case of a
Beneficial Owner, such Beneficial Owner or the Beneficial Owner's representative
is the Holder registered on the books of the Depositary.
10
(d) Book-Entry
Systems. The Depositary shall make arrangements for the
acceptance of the Global Depositary Shares into DTC. A single GDR in
the form of a "Balance Certificate" will evidence all GDSs held through DTC and
will be registered in the name of the nominee for DTC (currently "Cede &
Co."). As such, the nominee for DTC will be the only "Holder" of the
GDR evidencing all GDSs held through DTC. Each Beneficial Owner of
GDSs held through DTC must rely upon the procedures of DTC and the DTC
Participants to exercise or be entitled to any rights attributable to such
GDSs. The DTC Participants shall for all purposes be deemed to have
all requisite power and authority to act on behalf of the Beneficial Owners of
the GDSs held in the DTC Participants' respective accounts in DTC and the
Depositary shall for all purposes be authorized to rely upon any instructions
and information given to it by DTC Participants on behalf of Beneficial Owners
of GDSs. So long as GDSs are held through DTC or unless otherwise
required by law, ownership of beneficial interests in the GDR registered in the
name of the nominee for DTC will be shown on, and transfers of such ownership
will be effected only through, records maintained by (i) DTC (or its nominee),
or (ii) DTC Participants (or their nominees).
SECTION
2.3 Deposit with
Custodian. The Company or any other person acting on behalf of
the Company will, subject to the Scheme of Arrangement becoming effective, make
the Initial Deposit by Delivery to the Custodian of Shares, registered in the
name of the Depositary or its nominee (as directed by the Depositary) who will
be the holder of record of all such Shares.
11
Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall
instruct the Custodian not to, and the Depositary shall not, accept Shares for
deposit under this Deposit Agreement subsequent to the Initial Deposit other
than (i) Shares issued to the person in whose name Deposited Securities are
recorded (the "Registered Shareholder") as a dividend or free distribution upon
such Deposited Securities pursuant to Section 4.2 (including a bonus issue of
Shares), (ii) Shares acquired by the Registered Shareholder, Holders or
Beneficial Owners from the Company through the exercise of rights, warrants or
options distributed by the Company to such persons in respect of Deposited
Securities, (iii) securities issued by the Company to the Registered Shareholder
as such in respect of Deposited Securities as a result of reclassification of
Shares or other Deposited Securities or similar event pursuant to Section 4.11,
and (iv) as may otherwise be permitted by applicable law and agreed by the
Company and the Depositary in writing from time to time.
12
Permitted
deposits may be made at any time, whether or not the transfer books of the
Company or the Share Registrar, if any, are closed, by Delivery of the Shares to
the Custodian, and (A) (in the case of Shares represented by certificates issued
in registered form) appropriate instruments of transfer or endorsement, in a
form satisfactory to the Custodian or, (in the case of Shares represented by
certificates in bearer form) of the requisite coupons and talons pertaining
thereto, (B) such certifications and payments (including, without limitation,
the Depositary's fees and related charges) and evidence of such payments
(including, without limitation, stamping or otherwise marking such Shares by way
of receipt) as may be required by the Depositary or the Custodian in accordance
with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and applicable law, (C) if the
Depositary so requires, a written order directing the Depositary to execute and
deliver to, or upon the written order of, the person(s) stated in such order a
Receipt or Receipts for the number of Global Depositary Shares representing the
Shares so deposited, (D) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary (which may be
an opinion of counsel) that all necessary approvals have been granted by, or
there has been compliance with the rules and regulations of, any applicable
governmental agency in India, and (E) if the Depositary so requires, (i) an
agreement, assignment or instrument satisfactory to the Depositary or the
Custodian which provides for the prompt transfer by any person in whose name the
Shares are or have been recorded to the Custodian of any distribution, or right
to subscribe for additional Shares or to receive other property in respect of
any such deposited Shares or, in lieu thereof, such indemnity or other agreement
as shall be satisfactory to the Depositary or the Custodian and (ii) if the
Shares are registered in the name of the person on whose behalf they are
presented for deposit, a proxy or proxies entitling the Custodian to exercise
voting rights in respect of the Shares for any and all purposes until the Shares
so deposited are registered in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or any
nominee. Without limiting any other provision of this Deposit
Agreement, the Depositary shall instruct the Custodian not to, and the
Depositary shall not knowingly, accept for deposit (a) any Restricted Securities
nor (b) any fractional Shares or fractional Deposited Securities nor (c) a
number of Shares or Deposited Securities which upon application of the GDS to
Shares ratio would give rise to fractional GDSs nor (d) any Shares whenever it
has been notified by the Company (and the Company hereby agrees to provide such
notification in writing to the Depositary and the Custodian) that the Company
has restricted transfer of such Shares to comply with the ownership restrictions
referred to in Section 3.5 or that such deposit would result in any violation of
applicable laws.. No Share shall be accepted for deposit unless
accompanied by evidence, if any is required by the Depositary, that is
reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary or the Custodian that all conditions
to such deposit have been satisfied by the person depositing such Shares under
the laws and regulations of India and any necessary approval has been granted by
any governmental body in India, if any, which is then performing the function of
the regulator of currency exchange. The Depositary may issue Receipts
against evidence of rights to receive Shares from the Company, any agent of the
Company or any custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or other
entity involved in ownership or transaction records in respect of the
Shares. Such evidence of rights shall consist of written blanket or
specific guarantees of ownership of Shares furnished by the Company or any such
custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or other entity involved
in ownership or transaction records in respect of the Shares.
13
SECTION
2.4 Registration of
Shares. The Depositary shall instruct the Custodian upon each
delivery of certificates representing registered Shares being deposited
hereunder with the Custodian (or other Deposited Securities pursuant to Article
IV hereof), together with the other documents above specified, to present such
certificate or certificates, together with the appropriate instrument or
instruments of transfer or endorsement, duly stamped, to the Share Registrar for
transfer and registration of the Shares (as soon as transfer and registration
can be accomplished and at the expense of the person for whom the deposit is
made) in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of
either. Deposited Securities shall be held by the Depositary or by a
Custodian for the account and to the order of the Depositary or a nominee in
each case on behalf of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, at such place or
places as the Depositary or the Custodian shall determine.
Without
limitation of the foregoing, the Depositary shall not knowingly accept for
deposit under this Deposit Agreement any Shares or other Deposited Securities
required to be registered under the provisions of the Securities Act, unless a
registration statement is in effect as to such Shares or other Deposited
Securities, or any Shares or Deposited Securities the deposit of which would
violate any provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the
Company.
14
SECTION
2.5 Execution and Delivery of
Receipts. The Depositary has made arrangements with the
Custodian to confirm to the Depositary (i) that a deposit of Shares has been
made pursuant to Section 2.3 hereof, (ii) that any such Deposited Securities
have been recorded in the name of the Depositary, Custodian or a nominee of
either on the shareholders' register maintained by or on behalf of the Company
if registered Shares have been deposited or if deposit is made by book-entry
transfer, confirmation of such transfer in the books of the DTC, (iii) that all
required documents have been received, and (iv) the person or persons to whom or
upon whose order Global Depositary Shares are deliverable in respect thereof and
the number of Global Depositary Shares to be so delivered. Such
notification may be made by letter, cable, telex, SWIFT message or, at the risk
and expense of the person making the deposit, by facsimile or other means of
electronic transmission. Upon receiving such notice from the
Custodian, the Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit
Agreement, shall issue the Global Depositary Shares representing the Shares so
deposited to or upon the order of the person(s) named in the notice delivered to
the Depositary and shall execute and deliver at its Principal Office Receipt(s)
registered in the name or names requested by such person(s) and evidencing the
aggregate number of Global Depositary Shares to which such person(s) are
entitled, but only upon payment to the Depositary of the charges of the
Depositary for accepting a deposit, issuing Global Depositary Shares and
executing and delivering such Receipt(s) (as set forth in Section 5.9 and
Exhibit B hereto) and all taxes and governmental charges and fees payable in
connection with such deposit and the transfer of the Shares and the issuance of
the Receipt(s). The Depositary shall only issue Global Depositary
Shares in whole numbers and deliver Global Depositary Receipts evidencing whole
numbers of Global Depositary Shares. Nothing herein shall prohibit
any Pre-Release Transaction upon the terms set forth in this Deposit
Agreement.
15
SECTION
2.6 Transfer of Receipts;
Combination and Split-up of Receipts.
(a) Transfer. The
Registrar, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable Receipts, this
Deposit Agreement and the U.S. securities laws, shall register transfers of
Receipts on its books, upon surrender at the Principal Office of the Depositary
of a Receipt by the Holder thereof in person or by duly authorized attorney,
properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer (including
signature guarantees in accordance with standard industry practice) and duly
stamped as may be required by the laws of the State of New York and of the
United States of America. Subject to the terms and conditions of this
Deposit Agreement, including payment of the applicable fees and charges of the
Depositary set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereto, the Depositary shall
deliver new Receipt(s) to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto
evidencing the same aggregate number of Global Depositary Shares as those
evidenced by the Receipt(s) surrendered, provided that the Registrar shall
refuse to register any transfer of Receipts if the Registrar has actual
knowledge that such registration would cause the total number of Shares
represented by GDSs owned by any Beneficial Owner to exceed any limit under
applicable law with respect to which the Company has notified the Depositary in
writing.
(b) Combination & Split
Up. Subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable
Receipt, this Deposit Agreement and the U.S. securities laws, the Depositary
shall, upon surrender of a Receipt or Receipts for the purpose of effecting a
split-up or combination of such Receipt or Receipts and upon payment to the
Depositary of the applicable fees and charges set forth in Section 5.9 and
Exhibit B hereto, deliver to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto, a
new Receipt or Receipts for any number of Global Depositary Shares requested,
but evidencing the same aggregate number of Global Depositary Shares as the
Receipt or Receipts surrendered.
16
(c) Co-Transfer
Agents. The Depositary may appoint one or more co-transfer
agents for the purpose of effecting transfers, combinations and split-ups of
Receipts at designated transfer offices on behalf of the
Depositary. In carrying out its functions, a co-transfer agent may
require evidence of authority and compliance with applicable laws and other
requirements by Holders or persons entitled to such Receipts and will be
entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as the
Depositary. Such co-transfer agents may be removed and substitutes
appointed by the Depositary. Each co-transfer agent appointed under
this Section 2.6 (other than the Depositary) shall give notice in writing to the
Depositary accepting such appointment and agreeing to be bound by the applicable
terms of this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION
2.7 Surrender of GDSs and
Withdrawal of Deposited Securities. Upon surrender, at the
Principal Office of the Depositary, of GDSs for the purpose of withdrawal of the
Deposited Securities represented thereby, and upon payment of (i) the fees and
charges of the Depositary for the making of withdrawals of Deposited Securities
and cancellation of Receipts (as set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereof)
and (ii) all applicable taxes and governmental charges payable in connection
with such surrender and withdrawal, and subject to the terms and conditions of
this Deposit Agreement, the Receipt(s) evidencing such GDSs, the Company's
Memorandum and Articles of Association, Section 7.8 hereof and any other
provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities, other applicable laws and
the rules of DTC, the Holder of such GDSs shall be entitled to Delivery, to him
or upon his order, of the Deposited Securities at the time represented by the
GDSs so surrendered. GDSs may be surrendered for the purpose of
withdrawing Deposited Securities by delivery of a Receipt evidencing such GDSs
(if held in registered form) or by book-entry delivery of such GDSs to the
Depositary. GDSs shall be deemed cancelled when the relevant number
of Deposited Securities they represent are withdrawn from deposit
hereunder.
17
A Receipt
surrendered for such purposes shall, if so required by the Depositary, be
properly endorsed in blank or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in
blank. If the Depositary so requires, the Holder of any GDSs
surrendered for the purpose of withdrawing the Deposited Securities represented
thereby shall execute and deliver to the Depositary a written order directing
the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered
to or upon the written order of a person(s) designated in such
order.
Upon
receipt by the Depositary of GDSs surrendered for the purpose of withdrawal of
Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to Deliver
(without unreasonable delay) at the designated office of the Custodian, subject
to Sections 2.8, 3.1, 3.2, 5.9, and to the other terms and conditions of this
Deposit Agreement, the Receipt(s) evidencing such GDSs, the Memorandum and
Articles of Association of the Company, and the provisions of or governing the
Deposited Securities, applicable laws and the rules of the DTC, now or hereafter
in effect, to or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in the order
delivered to the Depositary for such purpose, the Deposited Securities
represented by such Global Depositary Shares together with any certificate or
other proper documents of or relating to title of the Deposited Securities, or
evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if available), as the case may be,
to or for the account of such person. Certificates, if any,
representing Deposited Securities may bear any legends or notifications not
inconsistent with the Deposit Agreement which are deemed necessary by the
Company or the Share Registrar to comply with the Memorandum and Articles of
Association of the Company or applicable law. The Depositary may make
delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of any dividends or cash
distributions with respect to the Deposited Securities represented by such
Global Depositary Shares, or of any proceeds of sale of any dividends,
distributions or rights, which may at the time be held by the
Depositary.
18
The
Depositary shall not accept for surrender GDSs representing less than one
Share. In the case of the surrender of GDSs representing a number
other than a whole number of Shares, the Depositary shall cause ownership of the
appropriate whole number of Shares to be Delivered in accordance with the terms
hereof, and shall, at the discretion of the Depositary, either (i) return to the
person surrendering such GDSs the number of GDSs representing any remaining
fractional Share, or (ii) sell or cause to be sold the fractional Shares
represented by the GDSs surrendered and remit the proceeds of such sale (net of
(a) applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and
(b) taxes withheld) to the person surrendering the GDSs.
At the
request, risk and expense of any Holder so surrendering GDSs, and for the
account of such Holder, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to
the extent permitted by law) any cash or other property (other than securities)
held in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by such GDSs to the
Depositary for delivery at the Principal Office of the
Depositary. Such direction shall be given by letter or, at the
request, risk and expense of such Holder, by cable, telex or facsimile
transmission.
SECTION
2.8 Limitations on Execution and
Delivery, Transfer, etc. of Receipts; Suspension of Delivery, Transfer,
etc.
19
(a) Additional
Requirements. As a condition precedent to the execution and
delivery, registration, registration of transfer, split-up, combination or
surrender of any Receipt, the delivery of any distribution thereon or withdrawal
of any Deposited Securities, the Depositary or the Custodian may require (i)
payment from the depositor of Shares or presenter of GDSs or of a Receipt of a
sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charge and any
stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax
or charge and fee with respect to Shares being deposited or withdrawn) and
payment of any applicable fees and charges of the Depositary as provided in
Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereof, (ii) the production of proof satisfactory to
it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matter
contemplated by Section 3.1 hereof and (iii) compliance with (A) any laws or
governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery of Receipts or
Global Depositary Shares or to the withdrawal of Deposited Securities and (B)
such reasonable regulations as the Depositary and the Company may establish
consistent with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and applicable
law.
(b) Additional
Limitations. The issuance of GDSs against deposits of Shares
generally or against deposits of particular Shares may be suspended, or the
issuance of GDSs against the deposit of particular Shares may be withheld, or
the registration of transfer of Receipts in particular instances may be refused,
or the registration of transfers of Receipts generally may be suspended, during
any period when the transfer books of the Company, the Depositary, a co-transfer
agent, a Registrar or the Share Registrar are closed or if any such action is
deemed necessary or advisable by the Depositary or the Company, in good faith,
at any time or from time to time because of any requirement of law, any
government or governmental body or commission or any securities exchange on
which the GDSs or Shares are listed, or under any provision of this Deposit
Agreement or provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Securities, or any
meeting of shareholders of the Company or for any other reason, subject, in all
cases, to Section 7.8 hereof.
20
(c) Regulatory
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Deposit
Agreement or any Receipt to the contrary, Holders are entitled to surrender
outstanding GDSs to withdraw the Deposited Securities at any time subject only
to (i) temporary delays caused by closing the transfer books of the Depositary
or the Company or the deposit of Shares in connection with voting at a
shareholders' meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees,
taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or
governmental regulations relating to the Receipts or to the withdrawal of the
Deposited Securities, and (iv) other circumstances specifically contemplated by
Section I.A.(1) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General
Instructions may be amended from time to time).
SECTION
2.9 Lost Receipts,
etc. In case any Receipt shall be mutilated, destroyed, lost,
or stolen, the Depositary shall execute and deliver a new Receipt of like tenor
and registered in the same name at the expense of the Holder (a) in the case of
a mutilated Receipt, in exchange of and substitution for such mutilated Receipt
upon cancellation thereof, or (b) in lieu of and in substitution for such
destroyed, lost, or stolen Receipt, after the Holder thereof (i) has submitted
to the Depositary a written request for such exchange and substitution before
the Depositary has notice that the Receipt has been acquired by a bona fide
purchaser, (ii) has provided such security or indemnity (including an indemnity
bond) as may be required by the Depositary to save it and any of its agents
harmless, and (iii) has satisfied any other reasonable requirements imposed by
the Depositary, including, without limitation, evidence satisfactory to the
Depositary of such destruction, loss or theft of such Receipt, the authenticity
thereof and the Holder's ownership thereof.
21
SECTION
2.10 Cancellation and Destruction
of Surrendered Receipts; Maintenance of Records. All Receipts
surrendered to the Depositary shall be canceled by the
Depositary. Cancelled Receipts shall not be entitled to any benefits
under this Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable against the Depositary
for any purpose. The Depositary is authorized to destroy Receipts so
canceled, provided the Depositary maintains a record of all destroyed
Receipts.
22
SECTION
2.11 Partial Entitlement
GDSs. In the event any Shares are deposited which entitle the
holders thereof to receive a per-share distribution or other entitlement in an
amount different from the Shares then on deposit (the Shares then on deposit
collectively, "Full Entitlement Shares" and the Shares with different
entitlement, "Partial Entitlement Shares"), the Depositary shall (i) cause the
Custodian to hold Partial Entitlement Shares separate and distinct from Full
Entitlement Shares, and (ii) subject to the terms of this Agreement, issue GDSs
and deliver GDRs representing Partial Entitlement Shares which are separate and
distinct from the GDSs and GDRs representing Full Entitlement Shares, by means
of separate CUSIP numbering and legending (if necessary) ("Partial Entitlement
GDSs/GDRs" and "Full Entitlement GDSs/GDRs", respectively). If and
when Partial Entitlement Shares become Full Entitlement Shares, the Depositary
shall (a) give notice thereof to Holders of Partial Entitlement GDSs and give
Holders of Partial Entitlement GDRs the opportunity to exchange such Partial
Entitlement GDRs for Full Entitlement GDRs, (b) cause the Custodian to transfer
the Partial Entitlement Shares into the account of the Full Entitlement Shares,
and (c) take such actions as are necessary to remove the distinctions between
(i) the Partial Entitlement GDRs and GDSs, on the one hand, and (ii) the Full
Entitlement GDRs and GDSs on the other. Holders and Beneficial Owners
of Partial Entitlement GDSs shall only be entitled to the entitlements of
Partial Entitlement Shares. Holders and Beneficial Owners of Full
Entitlement GDSs shall be entitled only to the entitlements of Full Entitlement
Shares. All provisions and conditions of this Agreement shall apply
to Partial Entitlement GDRs and GDSs to the same extent as Full Entitlement GDRs
and GDSs, except as contemplated by this Section 2.11. The Depositary
is authorized to take any and all other actions as may be necessary (including,
without limitation, making the necessary notations on Receipts) to give effect
to the terms of this Section 2.11. The Company agrees to give timely
written notice to the Depositary if any Shares issued or to be issued are
Partial Entitlement Shares and shall assist the Depositary with the
establishment of procedures enabling the identification of Partial Entitlement
Shares upon Delivery to the Custodian. All GDRs representing Partial
Entitlement GDSs shall bear, in addition to other legends required by this
Deposit Agreement, the Partial Entitlement Legend.
23
ARTICLE
III
CERTAIN
OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS AND
BENEFICIAL
OWNERS
OF
RECEIPTS
SECTION
3.1 Proofs, Certificates and
Other Information. Any person presenting Shares for deposit,
any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be required, and every Holder and
Beneficial Owner agrees, from time to time to provide to the Depositary or the
Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, payment of
all applicable taxes or other governmental charges, exchange control approval,
legal or beneficial ownership of GDSs and Deposited Securities, compliance with
applicable laws and the terms of this Deposit Agreement and the provisions of,
or governing, the Deposited Securities, to execute such certifications and to
make such representations and warranties, and to provide such other information
and documentation (or, in the case of Shares in registered form presented for
deposit, such information relating to the registration on the books of the
Company or of the appointed agent of the Company for the registration and
transfer of Shares) as the Depositary or the Custodian may deem necessary or
proper or as the Company may require by written request to the Depositary
consistent with its obligations hereunder provided that such written request
shall be delivered by the Company to the Depositary in a timely
manner. The Depositary and the Registrar, as applicable, may withhold
the execution or delivery or registration of transfer of any Receipt or the
distribution or sale of any dividend or distribution of rights or of the
proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by the terms of Section 7.8
hereof, the delivery of any Deposited Securities until such proof or other
information is filed or such certifications are executed, or such
representations are made, or such other documentation or information provided,
in each case to the Depositary's, the Registrar's and the Company's
satisfaction. The Depositary shall provide the Company, in a timely
manner, with copies or originals if necessary and appropriate of (i) any such
proofs of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, or exchange control
approval which it receives from Holders and Beneficial Owners, and (ii) any
other information or documents which the Company may request and which the
Depositary shall request and receive from any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any
person presenting Shares for deposit or GDSs for cancellation and
withdrawal. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to (i)
obtain any information for the Company if not provided by the Holders or
Beneficial Owners or (ii) verify or vouch for the accuracy of the information so
provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners.
24
SECTION
3.2 Liability for Taxes and
Other Charges. If any Indian or other tax or other
governmental charge shall become payable by the Custodian or the Depositary with
respect to any GDR or any Deposited Securities or Global Depositary Shares, such
tax or other governmental charge shall be payable by the Holders and Beneficial
Owners to the Depositary. The Company, the Custodian and/or the
Depositary may withhold or deduct from any distributions made in respect of
Deposited Securities and may sell for the account of a Holder and/or Beneficial
Owner any or all of the Deposited Securities and apply such distributions and
sale proceeds in payment of such taxes (including applicable interest and
penalties) or charges, the Holder and the Beneficial Owner remaining liable for
any deficiency. The Custodian may refuse the deposit of Shares and
the Depositary may refuse to issue GDSs, to deliver GDRs, register the transfer,
split-up or combination of GDRs and (subject to Section 7.8) the withdrawal of
Deposited Securities until payment in full of such tax, charge, penalty or
interest is received. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to
indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian, and any of their agents,
officers, employees and Affiliates for, and to hold each of them harmless from,
any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable interest and penalties
thereon) arising from any tax benefit obtained for such Holder and/or Beneficial
Owner.
SECTION
3.3 Representations and
Warranties on Deposit of Shares. Each person depositing Shares
under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant
that (i) such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly
issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained by such person, (ii) all
preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been
validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly
authorized so to do, (iv) the Shares presented for deposit are free and clear of
any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim, and
are not, and the Global Depositary Shares issuable upon such deposit will not
be, Restricted Securities and the Shares presented for deposit have not been
stripped of any rights or entitlements and (v) until such time as Indian law
changes to allow such transfers, it shall not have and it shall not offer or
sell GDSs directly or indirectly to any person in India or to, or for the
account of, a resident of India. Such representations and warranties
shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares, the issuance and
cancellation of Global Depositary Shares in respect thereof and the transfer of
such Global Depositary Shares. If any such representations or
warranties are false in any way, the Company and the Depositary shall be
authorized, at the cost and expense of the person depositing Shares, to take any
and all actions necessary to correct the consequences thereof.
25
SECTION
3.4 Compliance with Information
Requests. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Deposit Agreement, each Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to comply with
requests from the Company pursuant to Indian law, the rules and requirements of
the Indian Stock Exchanges, and any other stock exchange on which the Shares or
Global Depositary Shares are, or will be, registered, traded or listed or the
Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, which are made to provide
information, inter alia, as to the capacity in which such Holder or Beneficial
Owner owns Global Depositary Shares (and Shares as the case may be) and
regarding the identity of any other person(s) interested in such Global
Depositary Shares and the nature of such interest and various other matters,
whether or not they are Holders and/or Beneficial Owners at the time of such
request. The Depositary agrees to use its reasonable efforts to forward, upon
the request of the Company, and at the Company's expense, any such request from
the Company to the Holders and to forward to the Company any such responses to
such requests received by the Depositary.
26
SECTION
3.5 Ownership
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any other provision in this
Deposit Agreement, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares where such
transfer might result in ownership of Shares exceeding limits imposed by
applicable law or the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the
Company. The Company may also restrict, in such manner as it deems
appropriate, transfers of the Global Depositary Shares where such transfer may
result in the total number of Shares represented by the Global Depositary Shares
owned by a single Holder or Beneficial Owner to exceed any such
limits. The Company may, in its sole discretion but subject to
applicable law, instruct the Depositary to take action with respect to the
beneficial ownership interest of any Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of the
limits set forth in the preceding sentence, including, but not limited to, the
imposition of restrictions on the transfer of Global Depositary Shares, the
removal or limitation of voting rights, the mandatory sale or disposition on
behalf of a Holder or Beneficial Owner of the Shares represented by the Global
Depositary Shares held by such Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of such
limitations and the cancellation of such Global Depositary Shares, in each case,
if and to the extent permitted by applicable law and the Memorandum and Articles
of Association of the Company.
27
ARTICLE
IV
THE
DEPOSITED SECURITIES
SECTION
4.1 Cash
Distributions. Whenever the Depositary receives confirmation
from the Custodian of receipt of any cash dividend or other cash distribution on
any Deposited Securities, or receives proceeds from the sale of any Shares,
rights, securities or other entitlements under the terms hereof, the Depositary
will, if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts received in a Foreign
Currency can in the judgment of the Depositary (pursuant to Section 4.8 hereof)
be converted on a practicable basis into Dollars transferable to the United
States, promptly convert or cause to be converted such cash dividend,
distribution or proceeds into Dollars (on the terms described in Section 4.8)
and will distribute promptly the amount thus received (net of (a) the applicable
fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes
withheld) to the Holders entitled thereto as of the GDS Record Date in
proportion to the number of Global Depositary Shares held as of the GDS Record
Date. The Depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as
can be distributed without attributing to any Holder a fraction of one cent, and
any balance not so distributed shall be held by the Depositary (without
liability for interest thereon) and shall be added to and become part of the
next sum received by the Depositary for distribution to Holders of GDSs
outstanding at the time of the next distribution. If the Company, the
Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from any
cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities
an amount on account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount
distributed to Holders on the Global Depositary Shares representing such
Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly. Such withheld
amounts shall be forwarded by the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to
the relevant governmental authority. Evidence of payment thereof by
the Company shall be forwarded by the Company to the Depositary upon
request.
28
SECTION
4.2 Distribution in
Shares. If any distribution upon any Deposited Securities
consists of a dividend in, or free distribution of, Shares, the Company shall
cause such Shares to be deposited with the Custodian and registered, as the case
may be, in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or any of their
nominees. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit from the
Custodian, the Depositary shall establish the GDS Record Date upon the terms
described in Section 4.9 and shall, subject to Section 5.9 hereof, either (i)
distribute to the Holders as of the GDS Record Date in proportion to the number
of Global Depositary Shares held as of the GDS Record Date, additional Global
Depositary Shares, which represent in the aggregate the number of Shares
received as such dividend, or free distribution, subject to the other terms of
this Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, (a) the applicable fees
and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii)
if additional Global Depositary Shares are not so distributed, each Global
Depositary Share issued and outstanding after the GDS Record Date shall, to the
extent permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interests in
the additional integral number of Shares distributed upon the Deposited
Securities represented thereby (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of,
and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes). In lieu of
delivering fractional Global Depositary Shares, the Depositary shall sell the
number of Shares or Global Depositary Shares, as the case may be, represented by
the aggregate of such fractions and distribute the net proceeds upon the terms
described in Section 4.1. In the event that the Depositary determines
that any distribution in property (including Shares) is not feasible or is
subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is
obligated to withhold, or, if the Company, in the fulfillment of its obligation
under Section 5.7 hereof, has furnished an opinion of U.S. counsel determining
that Shares must be registered under the Securities Act or other laws in order
to be distributed to Holders (and no such registration statement has been
declared effective), the Depositary may adopt such method as it may deem
equitable and practicable for the purpose of effecting such distribution,
including disposing of all or a portion of such property (including Shares and
rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by
public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable, and
the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale (after
deduction of such (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred
by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto upon the terms described in
Section 4.1. The Depositary shall hold and/or distribute any unsold
balance of such property in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit
Agreement.
29
SECTION
4.3 Elective Distributions in
Cash or Shares. Whenever the Company intends to distribute a
dividend payable at the election of the holders of Shares in cash or in
additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at
least 60 days prior to the proposed distribution stating whether or not it
wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders of
GDSs. Upon receipt of notice indicating that the Company wishes such
elective distribution to be made available to Holders of GDSs, the Depositary
shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the
Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable
to make such elective distribution available to the Holders of
GDSs. The Depositary shall make such elective distribution available
to Holders only if (i) the Depositary shall have determined that such
distribution is reasonably practicable and (ii) the Depositary shall have
received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section
5.7. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the Depositary shall,
to the extent permitted by law, distribute to the Holders, on the basis of the
same determination as is made in the local market in respect of the Shares for
which no election is made, either (X) cash upon the terms described in Section
4.1 or (Y) additional GDSs representing such additional Shares upon the terms
described in Section 4.2. If the above conditions are satisfied, the
Depositary shall establish a GDS Record Date (on the terms described in Section
4.9) and establish procedures to enable Holders to elect the receipt of the
proposed dividend in cash or in additional GDSs. The Company shall
assist the Depositary in establishing such procedures to the extent
necessary. If a Holder elects to receive the proposed dividend (X) in
cash, the dividend shall be distributed upon the terms described in Section 4.1,
or (Y) in GDSs, the dividend shall be distributed upon the terms described in
Section 4.2. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make
available to Holders a method to receive the elective dividend in Shares (rather
than GDSs). There can be no assurance that Holders generally, or any
Holder in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive elective
distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of
Shares.
30
SECTION
4.4 Distribution of Rights to
Purchase Shares.
(a) Distribution to GDS
Holders. Whenever the Company intends to distribute to the
holders of the Deposited Securities rights to subscribe for additional Shares,
the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least 60 days prior
to the proposed distribution stating whether or not it wishes such rights to be
made available to Holders of GDSs. Upon receipt of a notice
indicating that the Company wishes such rights to be made available to Holders
of GDSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the
Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful
and reasonably practicable to make such rights available to the
Holders. The Depositary shall make such rights available to Holders
only if (i) the Company shall have requested that such rights be made available
to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation
within the terms of Section 5.7, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined
that such distribution of rights is reasonably practicable. In the
event any of the conditions set forth above are not satisfied, the Depositary
shall proceed with the sale of the rights as contemplated in Section 4.4(b)
below. In the event all conditions set forth above are satisfied, the
Depositary shall establish a GDS Record Date (upon the terms described in
Section 4.9) and establish procedures to distribute rights to purchase
additional GDSs (by means of warrants or otherwise) and to enable the Holders to
exercise such rights (upon payment of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes). The Company
shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary in establishing such
procedures. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make
available to the Holders a method to exercise rights to subscribe for Shares
(rather than GDSs).
31
(b) Sale of
Rights. If (i) the Company does not request the Depositary to
make the rights available to Holders or requests that the rights not be made
available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary fails to receive satisfactory
documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 or determines it is not reasonably
practicable to make the rights available to Holders, or (iii) any rights made
available are not exercised and appear to be about to lapse, the Depositary
shall determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell such
rights, in a riskless principal capacity, at such place and upon such terms
(including public or private sale) as it may deem proper. The Company
shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary to determine such legality
and practicability. The Depositary shall, upon such sale, convert and
distribute proceeds of such sale (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) upon the terms set forth in
Section 4.1.
(c) Lapse of
Rights. If the Depositary is unable to make any rights
available to Holders upon the terms described in Section 4.4(a) or to arrange
for the sale of the rights upon the terms described in Section 4.4(b), the
Depositary shall allow such rights to lapse.
The
Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may
be lawful or practicable to make such rights available to Holders in general or
any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred
in connection with such sale, or exercise, or (iii) the content of any materials
forwarded to the Holders on behalf of the Company in connection with the rights
distribution.
32
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Section 4.4, if registration (under the
Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the rights or the securities to
which any rights relate may be required in order for the Company to offer such
rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the securities represented by
such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such rights to the Holders
unless and until a registration statement under the Securities Act (or other
applicable law) covering such offering is in effect. In the event
that the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian shall be required to withhold
and does withhold from any distribution of property (including rights) an amount
on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the
Holders of Global Depositary Shares representing such Deposited Securities shall
be reduced accordingly. In the event that the Depositary determines
that any distribution in property (including Shares and rights to subscribe
therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the
Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a
portion of such property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in
such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private sale, as the
Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay any such taxes or
charges.
Holders
and Beneficial Owners acknowledge that they may not be given the opportunity to
receive or exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as the holders of
Shares or be able to exercise such rights. Nothing herein shall
obligate the Company to file any registration statement in respect of any rights
or Shares or other securities to be acquired upon the exercise of such
rights.
SECTION
4.5 Distributions Other Than
Cash, Shares or Rights to Purchase Shares.
(a) Whenever
the Company intends to distribute to the holders of Deposited Securities
property other than cash, Shares or rights to purchase additional Shares, the
Company shall give timely notice thereof to the Depositary and shall indicate
whether or not it wishes such distribution to be made to Holders of
GDSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes
such distribution be made to Holders of GDSs, the Depositary shall consult with
the Company, and the Company shall assist the Depositary, to determine whether
such distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably
practicable. The Depositary shall not make such distribution unless
(i) the Company shall have requested the Depositary to make such distribution to
Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation
within the terms of Section 5.7, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined
that such distribution is reasonably practicable.
33
(b) Upon
receipt of satisfactory documentation and the request of the Company to
distribute property to Holders of GDSs and after making the requisite
determinations set forth in (a) above, the Depositary shall distribute the
property so received to the Holders of record, as of the GDS Record Date, in
proportion to the number of GDSs held by them respectively and in such manner as
the Depositary may deem practicable for accomplishing such distribution (i) upon
receipt of payment or net of the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses
incurred by, the Depositary, and (ii) net of any taxes withheld. The
Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of the property so distributed and
deposited, in such amounts and in such manner (including public or private sale)
as the Depositary may deem practicable or necessary to satisfy any taxes
(including applicable interest and penalties) or other governmental charges
applicable to the distribution.
(c) If
(i) the Company does not request the Depositary to make such distribution to
Holders or requests not to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the
Depositary does not receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of
Section 5.7, or (iii) the Depositary determines that all or a portion of such
distribution is not reasonably practicable, the Depositary shall sell or cause
such property to be sold in a public or private sale, at such place or places
and upon such terms as it may deem proper and shall (i) cause the proceeds of
such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars and (ii) distribute the proceeds
of such conversion received by the Depositary (net of applicable (a) fees and
charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) to the
Holders as of the GDS Record Date upon the terms of Section 4.1. If
the Depositary is unable to sell such property, the Depositary may dispose of
such property in any way it deems reasonably practicable under the
circumstances.
34
SECTION
4.6 Distributions with Respect
to Deposited Securities in Bearer Form. Subject to the terms
of this Article IV, distributions in respect of Deposited Securities that are
held by the Depositary in bearer form shall be made to the Depositary for the
account of the respective Holders of Receipts with respect to which any such
distribution is made upon due presentation by the Depositary or the Custodian to
the Company of any relevant coupons, talons, or certificates. The
Company shall promptly notify the Depositary of such
distributions. The Depositary or the Custodian shall promptly present
such coupons, talons or certificates, as the case may be, in connection with any
such distribution.
35
SECTION
4.7 Redemption/Repurchase. If
the Company intends to exercise any right of redemption or repurchase in respect
of any of the Deposited Securities, the Company shall give notice thereof to the
Depositary at least 60 days prior to the intended date of redemption or
repurchase which notice shall set forth the particulars of the proposed
redemption or repurchase. Upon receipt of such (i) notice and (ii)
satisfactory documentation given by the Company to the Depositary within the
terms of Section 5.7, and only if the Depositary shall have determined that such
proposed redemption or repurchase is practicable, the Depositary shall mail to
each Holder a notice setting forth the intended exercise by the Company of the
redemption or repurchase rights and any other particulars set forth in the
Company's notice to the Depositary. The Depositary shall instruct the
Custodian to present to the Company the Deposited Securities in respect of which
redemption or repurchase rights are being exercised against payment of the
applicable redemption or repurchase price. Upon receipt of
confirmation from the Custodian that the redemption or repurchase has taken
place and that funds representing the redemption or repurchase price have been
received, the Depositary shall convert, transfer, and distribute the proceeds
(net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and the expenses incurred by, the
Depositary, and (b) taxes), retire GDSs and cancel GDRs upon delivery of such
GDSs by Holders thereof and the terms set forth in Sections 4.1 and 6.2
hereof. If less than all outstanding Deposited Securities are
redeemed or repurchased, the GDSs to be retired will be selected by lot or on a
pro rata basis, as may be determined by the Depositary. The
redemption or repurchase price per GDS shall be the per share amount received by
the Depositary upon the redemption or repurchase of the Deposited Securities
represented by Global Depositary Shares (subject to the terms of Section 4.8
hereof and the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary, and taxes) multiplied by the number of Deposited Securities
represented by each GDS redeemed or repurchased.
If at any
time the Depositary shall determine that in its judgment the conversion of any
Foreign Currency and the transfer and distribution of proceeds of such
conversion received by the Depositary is not practical or lawful, or if any
approval or license of any governmental authority or agency thereof that is
required for such conversion, transfer and distribution is denied or, in the
opinion of the Depositary, not obtainable at a reasonable cost or within a
reasonable period, the Depositary may, in its discretion, (i) make such
conversion and distribution in Dollars to the Holders for whom such conversion,
transfer and distribution is lawful and practicable, (ii) distribute the Foreign
Currency (or an appropriate document evidencing the right to receive such
Foreign Currency) to Holders for whom this is lawful and practicable or (iii)
hold (or cause the Custodian to hold) such Foreign Currency (without liability
for interest thereon) for the respective accounts of the Holders entitled to
receive the same.
36
SECTION
4.8 Fixing of GDS Record
Date. Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of the
fixing of a record date by the Company for the determination of holders of
Deposited Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash,
Shares, rights, or other distribution), or whenever for any reason the
Depositary causes a change in the number of Shares that are represented by each
Global Depositary Share, or whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of any
meeting of, or solicitation of consents or of proxies, of holders of Shares or
other Deposited Securities, or whenever the Depositary shall find it necessary
or convenient in connection with the giving of any notice, solicitation of any
consent or any other matter, the Depositary shall fix, after consultation with
the Company, a record date (the "GDS Record Date") for the determination of the
Holders of Receipts who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give
instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give or
withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise
take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed
number of Shares represented by each Global Depositary Share. The
Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the GDS Record Date as
closely as possible to the applicable record date for the Deposited Securities
(if any). Subject to applicable law and the provisions of Section 4.1
through 4.8 and to the other terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement,
only the Holders of Receipts at the close of business in New York on such GDS
Record Date shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give such voting
instructions, to receive such notice or solicitation, or otherwise take
action.
37
SECTION
4.9 Voting of Deposited
Securities.
HOLDERS
OF GDSs MAY NOT VOTE THE SHARES OR DEPOSITED SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THE GDSs
AND MAY NOT INSTRUCT THE DEPOSITARY AS TO THE VOTING OF SUCH DEPOSITED
SECURITIES. IN CERTAIN LIMITED. CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET
FORTH BELOW, THE DEPOSITARY MAY BE REQUIRED TO EXERCISE THE VOTING RIGHTS IN
RESPECT OF DEPOSITED SECURITIES AS DIRECTED BY THE COMPANY.
Upon
receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of Shares or other Deposited
Securities, if requested in writing by the Company, the Depositary shall, as
soon as practicable thereafter, fix the GDS Record Date for determining the
Holders entitled to receive information as to such meeting and shall mail to the
Holders of record a notice which shall contain: (a) such information
as is contained in such notice of meeting and (b) a statement that the Holders
of GDSs may not vote the Shares or other Deposited Securities represented by
their GDSs. Neither the Depositary not the Custodian on behalf of the
Depositary or its nominees in whose name the Shares or other Deposited
Securities are registered shall exercise any voting rights in respect of any
Deposited Securities unless required by law.
In the
event that under applicable law the Depositary is obliged to exercise any such
voting rights, then the Depositary shall (at the written direction of the
Company's Board of Directors but subject to being advised by the Depositary's
legal counsel that such action is in conformity with applicable
laws):
|
(a)
|
vote
in respect of the Shares according to instructions given in writing by the
Board of Directors of the Company;
or
|
|
(b)
|
give
proxies in respect thereof in favor of a Director of the Company nominated
by the Board of Directors of the Company from time to time;
or
|
|
(c)
|
if
so demanded by the Company, give an irrevocable power of attorney in favor
of a Director of the Company or any other person or company nominated by
the Board of Directors of the Company for the purpose in relation to the
voting rights therefor to be exercised at the meetings of the Company;
or
|
38
|
(d)
|
vote
in the same manner as those shareholders which have designated by the
Board of Directors in writing from time to time as being members of the
Birla Group.
|
SECTION
4.10 Changes Affecting Deposited
Securities. Upon any change in nominal or par value, split-up,
cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of Deposited
Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger or
consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party,
any securities which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in
exchange for, or in conversion of or replacement of or otherwise in respect of,
such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be treated as
new Deposited Securities under this Deposit Agreement, and the Receipts shall,
subject to the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and applicable law, evidence
Global Depositary Shares representing the right to receive such additional or
new Deposited Securities. The Depositary may, with the Company's
approval, and shall, if the Company shall so request, subject to the terms of
the Deposit Agreement and receipt of an opinion of counsel to the Company
satisfactory to the Depositary that such distributions are not in violation of
any applicable laws or regulations, execute and deliver additional Receipts as
in the case of a stock dividend on the Shares, or call for the surrender of
outstanding Receipts to be exchanged for new Receipts, in either case, as well
as in the event of newly deposited Shares, with necessary modifications to the
form of Receipt contained in Exhibit A hereto, specifically describing such new
Deposited Securities or corporate change. The Company agrees to,
jointly with the Depositary, amend the Registration Statement on Form F-6 as
filed with the Commission to permit the issuance of such new form of
Receipts. As soon as reasonably practicable upon the occurrence of
any such change, conversion or exchange covered by this Section in respect of
the Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall give notice thereof in writing,
at the Company's expense, to all Holders. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in the event that any security so received may not be lawfully
distributed to some or all Holders, the Depositary may, with the Company's
approval, and shall, if the Company requests, subject to receipt of an opinion
of Company's counsel satisfactory to the Depositary that such action is not in
violation of any applicable laws or regulations, sell such securities at public
or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem
proper and may allocate the net proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and
charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) for the
account of the Holders otherwise entitled to such securities upon an averaged or
other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among such Holders
and distribute the net proceeds so allocated to the extent practicable as in the
case of a distribution received in cash pursuant to Section 4.1. The
Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may
be lawful or feasible to make such securities available to Holders in general or
to any Holder in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred
in connection with such sale, or (iii) any liability to the purchaser of such
securities.
39
SECTION
4.11 Available
Information. The Company furnishes the Commission with certain
public reports and documents required by the laws of India or otherwise under
Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Exchange Act. These reports and documents
can be inspected and copied at public reference facilities maintained by the
Commission located at Judiciary Plaza, 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, XX, Xxxxxxxxxx, X.X.
00000.
SECTION
4.12 Reports. The
Depositary shall make available for inspection by Holders at its Principal
Office and at the office of the Custodian copies of this Deposit Agreement, any
notices, reports or communications, including any proxy soliciting materials,
received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary, the
Custodian, or the nominee of either of them as the holder of the Deposited
Securities and (b) made generally available to the holders of such Deposited
Securities by the Company. The Depositary shall also mail to Holders
copies of such notices, reports and communications when furnished by the Company
pursuant to Section 5.6.
40
SECTION
4.13 List of
Holders. Promptly upon written request by the Company, the
Depositary shall furnish to it a list, as of a recent date, of the names,
addresses and holdings of Global Depositary Shares of all Holders.
SECTION
4.14 Taxation. The
Depositary will, and will instruct the Custodian to, forward to the Company or
its agents such information from its records as the Company may reasonably
request to enable the Company or its agents to file the necessary tax reports
with governmental authorities or agencies. The Depositary, the
Custodian or the Company and its agents may file such reports as are necessary
to reduce or eliminate applicable taxes on dividends and on other distributions
in respect of Deposited Securities under applicable tax treaties or laws for the
Holders and Beneficial Owners. In accordance with instructions from
the Company and to the extent practicable, the Depositary or the Custodian will
take reasonable administrative actions to obtain refunds of taxes withheld,
reduced withholding of tax at source on dividends and other benefits under
applicable tax treaties or laws with respect to dividends and other
distributions on the Deposited Securities. Holders and Beneficial
Owners of Global Depositary Shares may be required from time to time, and in a
timely manner, to file such proof of taxpayer status, residence and beneficial
ownership (as applicable), to execute such certificates and to make such
representations and warranties, or to provide any other information or
documents, as the Depositary or the Custodian may deem necessary or proper to
fulfill the Depositary's or the Custodian's obligations under applicable
law. The Holders and Beneficial Owners shall indemnify the
Depositary, the Company, the Custodian and any of their respective directors,
employees, agents and Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from,
any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to
tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of
withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained.
41
If the
Company (or any of its agents) withholds from any distribution any amount on
account of taxes or governmental charges, or pays any other tax in respect of
such distribution (i.e. stamp duty tax, capital gains or other
similar tax), the Company shall (and shall cause such agent to) remit promptly
to the Depositary information about such taxes or governmental charges withheld
or paid, and, if so requested, the tax receipt (or other proof of payment to the
applicable governmental authority) therefor, in each case, in a form
satisfactory to the Depositary. The Depositary shall, to the extent
required by U.S. law, report to Holders any taxes withheld by it or the
Custodian, and, if such information is provided to it by the Company, any taxes
withheld by the Company. The Depositary and the Custodian shall not
be required to provide the Holders with any evidence of the remittance by the
Company (or its agents) of any taxes withheld, or of the payment of taxes by the
Company, except to the extent the evidence is provided by the Company to the
Depositary. Neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall be liable
for the failure by any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of
credits on the basis of non-U.S. tax paid against such Holder's or Beneficial
Owner's income tax liability.
The
Depositary is under no obligation to provide the Holders and Beneficial Owners
with any information about the tax status of the Company. The
Depositary shall not incur any liability for any tax consequences that may be
incurred by Holders and Beneficial Owners on account of their ownership of the
Global Depositary Shares, including without limitation, tax consequences
resulting from the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) being treated as a
"Foreign Personal Holding Company," or as a "Passive Foreign Investment Company"
(in each case as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and the regulations
issued thereunder) or otherwise.
42
ARTICLE
V
THE
DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY
SECTION
5.1 Maintenance of Office and
Transfer Books by the Registrar. Until termination of this
Deposit Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Registrar shall maintain in
the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York, an office and facilities for the
execution and delivery, registration, registration of transfers, combination and
split-up of Receipts, the surrender of Receipts for the purpose of withdrawal of
Deposited Securities in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit
Agreement.
The
Registrar shall keep books for the registration of issuances and transfers of
Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the
Company and by the Holders of such Receipts, provided that such inspection shall
not be, to the Registrar's knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with
Holders of such Receipts in the interest of a business or object other than the
business of the Company or other than a matter related to this Deposit Agreement
or the Receipts.
The
Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the Receipts, at any time
or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith in
connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, or at the reasonable
written request of the Company subject, in all cases, to Section 7.8
hereof.
43
If any
Receipts or the Global Depositary Shares evidenced thereby are listed on one or
more stock exchanges or automated quotation systems in the United States, the
Depositary shall act as Registrar or appoint a Registrar or one or more
co-registrars for registration of Receipts and transfers, combinations and
split-ups, and to countersign such Receipts in accordance with any requirements
of such exchanges or systems. Such Registrar or co-registrars may be
removed and a substitute or substitutes appointed by the Depositary or upon the
request of the Company.
SECTION
5.2 Exoneration. Neither
the Depositary nor the Company shall be obligated to do or perform any act which
is inconsistent with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement or incur any
liability (i) if the Depositary or the Company shall be prevented or forbidden
from, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms
of this Deposit Agreement, by reason of any provision of any present or future
law or regulation of the United States, India or any other country, or of any
other governmental authority or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or on
account of the possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason
of any provision, present or future of the Memorandum and Articles of
Association of the Company or any provision of or governing any Deposited
Securities, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond
its control (including, without limitation, nationalization, expropriation,
currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, revolutions,
rebellions, explosions and computer failure), (ii) by reason of any exercise of,
or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in this Deposit Agreement or
in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company or provisions of or
governing Deposited Securities, (iii) for any action or inaction in reliance
upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person
presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized
representative thereof, or any other person believed by it in good faith to be
competent to give such advice or information, (iv) for the inability by a Holder
or Beneficial Owner to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other
benefit which is made available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not,
under the terms of this Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of Global
Depositary Shares or (v) for any consequential or punitive damages for any
breach of the terms of this Deposit Agreement.
44
The
Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any Custodian and the Company,
its controlling persons and its agents may rely and shall be protected in acting
upon any written notice, request or other document believed by it to be genuine
and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or
parties.
No
disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of
this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION
5.3 Standard of
Care. The Company and its agents assume no obligation and
shall not be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement or the
Receipts to Holders or Beneficial Owners or other persons, except that the
Company and its agents agree to perform their obligations specifically set forth
in this Deposit Agreement without negligence or bad faith.
The
Depositary and its agents assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any
liability under this Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to Holders or Beneficial
Owners or other persons, except that the Depositary and its agents agree to
perform their obligations specifically set forth in this Deposit Agreement
without negligence or bad faith. The Depositary and the Company
undertake to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set
forth in this Deposit Agreement and no implied covenants or obligations shall be
read into this Deposit Agreement against the Depositary or the
Company.
45
Without
limitation of the foregoing, neither the Depositary, nor the Company, nor any of
their respective controlling persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation
to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in
respect of any Deposited Securities or in respect of the Receipts, which in its
opinion may involve it in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to
it against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and
liability be furnished as often as may be required (and no Custodian shall be
under any obligation whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the
responsibility of the Custodian being solely to the Depositary).
The
Depositary and its agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any
instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, or for the manner in which
any vote is cast or the effect of any vote, provided that any such action or
omission is in good faith and in accordance with the terms of this Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary shall not incur any liability for any
failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably
practicable, for the content of any information submitted to it by the Company
for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation
thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the
Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities or
for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of GDSs, Shares or
Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing
any rights to lapse upon the terms of this Deposit Agreement or for the failure
or timeliness of any notice from the Company.
46
SECTION
5.4 Resignation and Removal of
the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary. The
Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary hereunder by written notice of
resignation delivered to the Company, such resignation to be effective on the
earlier of (i) the 60th day after delivery thereof to the Company (whereupon the
Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2
hereof), or (ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary
and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.
The
Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such
removal, which removal shall be effective on the earlier of (i) the 60th day
after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be
entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 hereof), or (ii) upon
the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of
such appointment as hereinafter provided.
In case
at any time the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the
Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which
shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan,
the City of New York. Every successor depositary shall be required by
the Company to execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an
instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such
successor depositary, without any further act or deed (except as required by
applicable law), shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties
and obligations of its predecessor. The predecessor depositary, upon
payment of all sums due it and on the written request of the Company shall, (i)
execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all rights and
powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than as contemplated in Sections
5.08 and 5.09), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all right, title and
interest to the Deposited Securities to such successor, and (iii) deliver to
such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding Receipts and such other
information relating to Receipts and Holders thereof as the successor may
reasonably request. Any such successor depositary shall promptly mail
notice of its appointment to such Holders.
47
Any
corporation into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated
shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any
document or any further act.
SECTION
5.5 The
Custodian. The Depositary has initially appointed Citibank,
N.A. (Mumbai) as Custodian for the purpose of this Deposit
Agreement. The Custodian or its successors in acting hereunder shall
be subject at all times and in all respects to the direction of the Depositary
for the Deposited Securities for which the Custodian acts as custodian and shall
be responsible solely to it. If any Custodian resigns or is
discharged from its duties hereunder with respect to any Deposited Securities
and no other Custodian has previously been appointed hereunder, the Depositary
shall promptly appoint a substitute custodian that is organized under the laws
of India. The Depositary shall require such resigning or discharged
Custodian to deliver the Deposited Securities held by it, together with all such
records maintained by it as Custodian with respect to such Deposited Securities
as the Depositary may request, to the Custodian designated by the
Depositary. Whenever the Depositary determines, in its discretion,
that it is appropriate to do so, it may appoint an additional custodian with
respect to any Deposited Securities, or discharge the Custodian with respect to
any Deposited Securities and appoint a substitute custodian, which shall
thereafter be Custodian hereunder with respect to the Deposited
Securities. Immediately upon any such change, the Depositary shall
give notice thereof in writing to all Holders of Receipts, each other Custodian
and the Company. If the Depositary appoints an additional or a
substitute custodian (as contemplated above) which is not a branch or subsidiary
of Citibank, N.A., the Depositary agrees that (i) it shall obtain the consent of
the Company prior to such appointment and (ii) it shall cooperate in good faith
and shall use reasonable efforts to assist the Company in obtaining an agreement
by such additional or substitute custodian to directly indemnify the Company for
loss resulting from acts performed or omitted by the Custodian with
substantially the same terms and conditions as the indemnity provided in Section
5.8.
48
Upon the
appointment of any successor depositary, any Custodian then acting hereunder
shall, unless otherwise instructed by the Depositary, continue to be the
Custodian of the Deposited Securities without any further act or writing, and
shall be subject to the direction of the successor depositary. The
successor depositary so appointed shall, nevertheless, on the written request of
any Custodian, execute and deliver to such Custodian all such instruments as may
be proper to give to such Custodian full and complete power and authority to act
on the direction of such successor depositary.
SECTION
5.6 Notices and
Reports. On or before the first date on which the Company
gives notice, by publication or otherwise, of any meeting of holders of Shares
or other Deposited Securities, or of any adjourned meeting of such holders, or
of the taking of any action by such holders other than at a meeting, or of the
taking of any action in respect of any cash or other distributions or the
offering of any rights in respect of Deposited Securities, the Company shall
transmit to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of the notice thereof in the
English language but otherwise in the form given or to be given to holders of
Shares or other Deposited Securities. The Company shall also furnish
to the Custodian and the Depositary a summary, in English, of any applicable
provisions or proposed provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association
of the Company that may be relevant or pertain to such notice of meeting or be
the subject of a vote thereat.
49
The
Company will also transmit to the Depositary English-language versions of the
other notices, reports and communications which are made generally available by
the Company to holders of its Shares or other Deposited
Securities. The Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the
Company and at the Company's expense, for the mailing of copies thereof to all
Holders or make such notices, reports and other communications available to all
Holders on a basis similar to that for holders of Shares or other Deposited
Securities or on such other basis as the Company may advise the Depositary or as
may be required by any applicable law, regulation or stock exchange
requirement.
The
Depositary will, at the expense of the Company, make available a copy of any
such notices, reports or communications issued by the Company and delivered to
the Depositary for inspection by the Holders of the Receipts evidencing the
Global Depositary Shares representing such Shares governed by such provisions at
the Depositary's Principal Office, at the office of the Custodian and at any
other designated transfer office.
50
SECTION
5.7 Issuance of Additional
Shares, GDSs etc. The Company agrees that in the event it or
any of its Affiliates proposes (i) an issuance, sale or distribution of
additional Shares, (ii) an offering of rights to subscribe for Shares or other
Deposited Securities, (iii) an issuance of securities convertible into or
exchangeable for Shares, (iv) an issuance of rights to subscribe for securities
convertible into or exchangeable for Shares, (v) an elective dividend of cash or
Shares, (vi) a redemption of Deposited Securities, (vii) a meeting of holders of
Deposited Securities, or solicitation of consents or proxies, relating to any
reclassification of securities, merger or consolidation or transfer of assets,
or (viii) any reclassification, recapitalization, reorganization, merger,
consolidation or sale of assets which affects the Deposited Securities, it will
obtain U.S. legal advice and take all steps necessary to ensure that the
application of the proposed transaction to Holders and Beneficial Owners does
not violate the registration provisions of the Securities Act, or any other
applicable laws (including, without limitation, the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended, the Exchange Act or the securities laws of the states of the
United States). In support of the foregoing, the Company will furnish
to the Depositary (a) a written opinion of U.S. counsel (reasonably satisfactory
to the Depositary) stating whether or not application of such transaction to
Holders and Beneficial Owners (1) requires a registration statement under the
Securities Act to be in effect or (2) is exempt from the registration
requirements of the Securities Act and (b) an opinion of Indian counsel stating
that (1) making the transaction available to Holders and Beneficial Owners does
not violate the laws or regulations of India and (2) all requisite regulatory
consents and approvals have been obtained in India. If the filing of
a registration statement is required, the Depositary shall not have any
obligation to proceed with the transaction unless it shall have received
evidence reasonably satisfactory to it that such registration statement has been
declared effective. If, being advised by counsel, the Company
determines that a transaction is required to be registered under the Securities
Act, the Company will either (i) register such transaction to the extent
necessary, (ii) alter the terms of the transaction to avoid the registration
requirements of the Securities Act or (iii) direct the Depositary to take
specific measures, in each case as contemplated in this Deposit Agreement, to
prevent such transaction from violating the registration requirements of the
Securities Act.
51
The
Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any of its
Affiliates will at any time (i) deposit any Shares or other Deposited
Securities, either upon original issuance or upon a sale of Shares or other
Deposited Securities previously issued and reacquired by the Company or by any
such Affiliate, or (ii) issue additional Shares, rights to subscribe for such
Shares, securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares or rights to
subscribe for such securities, unless such transaction and the securities
issuable in such transaction are exempt from registration under the Securities
Act or have been registered under the Securities Act (and such registration
statement has been declared effective).
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in this Deposit Agreement, nothing in this Deposit
Agreement shall be deemed to obligate the Company to file any registration
statement in respect of any proposed transaction.
SECTION
5.8 Indemnification. The
Depositary agrees to indemnify the Company and its directors, officers,
employees, agents and Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from,
any direct loss, liability, tax, charge or expense of any kind whatsoever
(including, but not limited to, the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel)
which may arise out of acts performed or omitted by the Depositary or the
Custodian (provided that the Custodian is Citibank, N.A. (Mumbai or another
subsidiary or branch of Citibank, N.A.)) under the terms hereof due to the
negligence or bad faith of the Depositary or the Custodian.
The
Company agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Custodian and any of their
respective directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates against, and
hold each of them harmless from, any direct loss, liability, tax, charge or
expense of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited to, the reasonable
fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise (a) out of or in connection with
any acts performed or omitted in connection with any offer, issuance, sale,
resale, transfer, deposit or withdrawal of Receipts, Global Depositary Shares,
the Shares, or other Deposited Securities, as the case may be or as a result of
any offering documents in respect thereof or (b) out of acts performed or
omitted (including, but not limited to, any delivery by the Depositary on behalf
of the Company of information regarding the Company) in connection with this
Deposit Agreement, the Receipts, the Global Depositary Shares, the Shares, or
any Deposited Securities, in the case of (a) or (b) (i) by the Depositary, the
Custodian or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and
Affiliates, except to the extent such loss, liability, tax, charge or expense is
due to the negligence or bad faith of any of them, or (ii) by the Company or any
of its directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates, except to the
extent that such liability or expense arises out of information relating to the
Depositary or to the Custodian, as the case may by, furnished in a signed
writing to the Company or its agents by the Depositary for use in any document
relating to the GDSs or Receipts.
52
The
obligations set forth in this Section shall survive the termination of this
Deposit Agreement and the succession or substitution of any party
hereto.
Any
person seeking indemnification hereunder (an "indemnified person") shall notify
the person from whom it is seeking indemnification (the "indemnifying person")
of the commencement of any indemnifiable action or claim promptly after such
indemnified person becomes aware of such commencement (provided that the failure
to make such notification shall not affect such indemnified person's rights to
indemnification hereunder except to the extent the indemnifying person is
materially prejudiced by such failure) and shall consult in good faith with the
indemnifying person as to the conduct of the defense of such action or claim
that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder, which defense shall be reasonable
in the circumstances. No indemnified person shall compromise or
settle any action or claim that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder without
the consent of the indemnifying person, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld.
53
SECTION
5.9 Fees and Charges of
Depositary. The Company, the Holders, the Beneficial Owners,
and persons depositing Shares or surrendering GDSs for cancellation and
withdrawal of Deposited Securities shall be required to pay to the Depositary
the Depositary's fees and related charges identified as payable by them
respectively in the Fee Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit B. All
fees and charges so payable may, at any time and from time to time, be changed
by agreement between the Depositary and the Company, but, in the case of fees
and charges payable by Holders and Beneficial Owners, only in the manner
contemplated in Section 6.1. The Depositary shall provide, without
charge, a copy of its latest fee schedule to anyone upon request.
The
Company agrees to promptly pay to the Depositary such other fees and charges and
to reimburse the Depositary for such out-of-pocket expenses as the Depositary
and the Company may agree to in writing from time to
time. Responsibility for payment of such charges may at any time and
from time to time be changed by agreement between the Company and the
Depositary. Unless otherwise agreed, the Depositary shall present its
statement for such expenses and fees or charges to the Company once every three
months. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole
account of the Depositary.
The right
of the Depositary to receive payment of fees, charges and expenses as provided
above shall survive the termination of this Deposit Agreement. As to
any Depositary, upon the resignation or removal of such Depositary as described
in Section 5.4 hereof, such right shall extend for those fees, charges and
expenses incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or
removal.
54
SECTION
5.10 Pre-Release. Subject
to the further terms and provisions of this Section 5.10, the Depositary, its
Affiliates and their agents, on their own behalf, may own and deal in any class
of securities of the Company and its Affiliates and in GDSs. In its
capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend Shares or GDSs; provided,
however, that the Depositary may (i) issue GDSs prior to the receipt of Shares
pursuant to Section 2.3 and (ii) deliver Shares upon the receipt and
cancellation of GDSs for withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to Section
2.7, including GDSs which were issued under (i) above but for which Shares may
not have been received (each such transaction under (i) a "Pre-Release
Transaction"). The Depositary may receive GDSs in lieu of Shares
under (i) above. The Depositary shall not commence Pre-Release
Transactions under this Section 5.10 unless such transactions are permitted by
Indian law and the Company has consented to the commencement of such
transactions. Each such Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject
to a written agreement whereby the person or entity (the "Applicant") to whom
GDSs or Shares are to be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the
Pre-Release Transaction the Applicant or its customer owns the Shares that are
to be delivered by the Applicant under such Pre-Release Transaction, (x) agrees
to indicate the Depositary as owner of such Shares in its records and to hold
such Shares for the Depositary until such Shares are delivered to the Depositary
or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to the Depositary or
the Custodian, as applicable, such Shares, and (z) agrees to any additional
restrictions or requirements that the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all
times fully collateralized with cash, United States government securities or
such other collateral as the Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the
Depositary on not more than five (5) business days' notice and (d) subject to
such further indemnities and credit regulations as the Depositary deems
appropriate. The Depositary will normally limit the number of GDSs
and Shares involved in such Pre-Release Transactions at any one time to thirty
percent (30%) of the GDSs outstanding (without giving effect to GDSs outstanding
under (i) above), provided, however, that the
Depositary reserves the right to change or disregard such limit from time to
time as market conditions require. The Depositary may also set limits
with respect to the number of GDSs and Shares involved in Pre-Release
Transactions with any one person on a case by case basis as it deems
appropriate.
55
The
Depositary may retain for its own account any compensation received by it in
conjunction with the foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant to (b)
above, but not the earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the
Holders (other than the Applicant).
SECTION
5.11 Restricted Securities
Owners. The Company agrees to advise in writing each of the
persons or entities who, to the knowledge of the Company, holds Restricted
Securities that such Restricted Securities are ineligible for deposit hereunder
and, to the extent practicable, shall require each of such persons to represent
in writing that such person will not deposit Restricted Securities
hereunder.
56
ARTICLE
VI
AMENDMENT
AND TERMINATION
SECTION
6.1 Amendment/Supplement. The
Receipts outstanding at any time, the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and
the form of Receipt attached thereto and to be issued under the terms thereof
may at any time and from time to time be amended or supplemented by written
agreement between the Company and the Depositary in any respect which they may
deem necessary or desirable without the prior written consent of the Holders or
Beneficial Owners. Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or
increase any fees or charges (other than charges in connection with foreign
exchange control regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery
and other such expenses), or which shall otherwise materially prejudice any
substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall not, however,
become effective as to outstanding Receipts until the expiration of 30 days
after notice of such amendment or supplement shall have been given to the
Holders of outstanding Receipts. The parties hereto agree that any
amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the
Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the Global Depositary Shares to be
registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the Global Depositary
Share(s) to be traded solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in
either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders,
shall be deemed not to materially prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or
Beneficial Owners. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any
amendment or supplement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to
hold such Global Depositary Share(s), to consent and agree to such amendment or
supplement and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended and supplemented
thereby. In no event shall any amendment or supplement impair the
right of the Holder to surrender such Receipt and receive therefor the Deposited
Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory
provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any
governmental body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would
require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement to ensure compliance
therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit
Agreement and the Receipt at any time in accordance with such changed laws,
rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit
Agreement in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such
amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time
as required for compliance with such laws, rules or regulations.
57
SECTION
6.2 Termination. The
Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate
this Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders of
all Receipts then outstanding at least 60 days prior to the date fixed in such
notice for such termination. If 60 days shall have expired after (i)
the Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a written notice of its
election to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have delivered to the Depositary a
written notice of the removal of the Depositary, and in either case a successor
depositary shall not have been appointed and accepted its appointment as
provided in Section 5.4, the Depositary may terminate this Deposit Agreement by
mailing notice of such termination to the Holders of all Receipts then
outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for such
termination. On and after the date of termination of this Deposit
Agreement, the Holder will, upon surrender of such Receipt at the Principal
Office of the Depositary, upon the payment of the charges of the Depositary for
the surrender of Receipts referred to in Section 2.7 and subject to the
conditions and restrictions therein set forth, and upon payment of any
applicable taxes or governmental charges, be entitled to delivery, to him or
upon his order, of the amount of Deposited Securities represented by such
Receipt. If any Receipts shall remain outstanding after the date of
termination of this Deposit Agreement, the Registrar thereafter shall
discontinue the registration of transfers of Receipts, and the Depositary shall
suspend the distribution of dividends to the Holders thereof, and shall not give
any further notices or perform any further acts under this Deposit Agreement,
except that the Depositary shall continue to collect dividends and other
distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities, shall sell rights as provided
in this Deposit Agreement, and shall continue to deliver Deposited Securities,
subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth in Section 2.7, together
with any dividends or other distributions received with respect thereto and the
net proceeds of the sale of any rights or other property, in exchange for
Receipts surrendered to the Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the
case may be, in each case, the charges of the Depositary for the surrender of a
Receipt, any expenses for the account of the Holder in accordance with the terms
and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or
governmental charges or assessments). At any time after the
expiration of six months from the date of termination of this Deposit Agreement,
the Depositary may sell the Deposited Securities then held hereunder and may
thereafter hold uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together with any
other cash then held by it hereunder, in an unsegregated account, without
liability for interest for the pro rata benefit of the Holders of Receipts whose
Receipts have not theretofore been surrendered. After making such
sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under this Deposit
Agreement with respect to the Receipts, the Deposited Securities and the Global
Depositary Shares, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash (after
deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the charges of the
Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for the account of the
Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and
any applicable taxes or governmental charges or assessments). Upon
the termination of this Deposit Agreement, the Company shall be discharged from
all obligations under this Deposit Agreement except for its obligations to the
Depositary under Sections 5.8, 5.9 and 7.6 hereof.
58
ARTICLE
VII
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION
7.1 Counterparts. This
Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed an original and all of such counterparts together shall
constitute one and the same agreement. Copies of this Deposit
Agreement shall be maintained with the Depositary and shall be open to
inspection by any Holder during business hours.
59
SECTION
7.2 No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. This Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive
benefit of the parties hereto (and their successors) and shall not be deemed to
give any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other
person, except to the extent specifically set forth in this Deposit
Agreement. Nothing in this Deposit Agreement shall be deemed to give
rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties nor establish a
fiduciary or similar relationship among the parties. The parties
hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) the Depositary and its Affiliates may at
any time have multiple banking relationships with the Company and its
Affiliates, (ii) the Depositary and its Affiliates may be engaged at any time in
transactions in which parties adverse to the Company or the Holders or
Beneficial Owners may have interests and (iii) nothing contained in this
Agreement shall (a) preclude the Depositary or any of its Affiliates from
engaging in such transactions or establishing or maintaining such relationships,
(b) obligate the Depositary or any of its Affiliates to disclose such
transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment
received in such transactions or relationships.
SECTION
7.3 Severability. In
case any one or more of the provisions contained in this Deposit Agreement or in
the Receipts should be or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any
respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions
contained herein or therein shall in no way be affected, prejudiced or disturbed
thereby.
SECTION
7.4 Holders and Beneficial
Owners as Parties; Binding Effect. The Holders and Beneficial
Owners from time to time of Global Depositary Shares shall be parties to this
Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions hereof
and of any Receipt by acceptance thereof or any beneficial interest
therein.
SECTION
7.5 Notices. Any
and all notices to be given to the Company shall be deemed to have been duly
given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to Grasim Industries
Limited, Industry House, 159 Churchgate Reclamation, Bombay 400 020, India,
Attention: Company Secretary, or to any other address which the
Company may specify in writing to the Depositary.
60
Any and
all notices to be given to the Depositary shall be deemed to have been duly
given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to Citibank, N.A., 000
Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, X.X.X. Attention: GDR Department, or to
any other address which the Depositary may specify in writing to the
Company.
Any and
all notices to be given to the Custodian shall be deemed to have been duly given
if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to Citibank, N.A.
(Mumbai), Xxxxxxxxxxx Mansion, SIDR Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000, Xxxxx, Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 400 018, or to any other address which the Custodian may specify in
writing to the Company.
Any and
all notices to be given to any Holder shall be deemed to have been duly given if
personally delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or facsimile transmission,
confirmed by letter, addressed to such Holder at the address of such Holder as
it appears on the transfer books for Receipts of the Depositary, or, if such
Holder shall have filed with the Depositary a written request that notices
intended for such Holder be mailed to some other address, at the address
specified in such request. Notice to Holders shall be deemed to be
notice to Beneficial Owners for all purposes of this Deposit
Agreement.
Delivery
of a notice sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or facsimile transmission
shall be deemed to be effective at the time when a duly addressed letter
containing the same (or a confirmation thereof in the case of a cable, telex or
facsimile transmission) is deposited, postage prepaid, in a post-office letter
box or delivered to an air courier service. The Depositary or the
Company may, however, act upon any cable, telex or facsimile transmission
received by it from the other or from any Holder, notwithstanding that such
cable, telex or facsimile transmission shall not subsequently be confirmed by
letter as aforesaid.
61
SECTION
7.6 Governing Law and
Jurisdiction. This Deposit Agreement and the Receipts shall be
interpreted in accordance with, and all rights hereunder and thereunder and
provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by, the laws of the State of New
York without reference to the principles of choice of law
thereof. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Deposit
Agreement, any Receipt or any present or future provisions of the laws of the
State of New York, the rights of holders of Shares and of any other Deposited
Securities and the obligations and duties of the Company in respect of the
holders of Shares and other Deposited Securities, as such, shall be governed by
the laws of India (or, if applicable, such other laws as may govern the
Deposited Securities). Except as set forth in the following paragraph
of this Section 7.6, the Company and the Depositary agree that the federal or
state courts in the City of New York shall have jurisdiction to hear and
determine any suit, action or proceeding and to settle any dispute between them
that may arise out of or in connection with this Deposit Agreement and, for such
purposes, each irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such
courts. The Company hereby irrevocably designates, appoints and
empowers CT Corporation (the "Agent") now at 0000 Xxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
as its authorized agent to receive and accept for and on its behalf, and on
behalf of its properties, assets and revenues, service by mail of any and all
legal process, summons, notices and documents that may be served in any suit,
action or proceeding brought against the Company in any federal or state court
as described in the preceding sentence or in the next paragraph of this Section
7.6. If for any reason the Agent shall cease to be available to act
as such, the Company agrees to designate a new agent in New York on the terms
and for the purposes of this Section 7.6 reasonably satisfactory to the
Depositary. The Company further hereby irrevocably consents and
agrees to the service of any and all legal process, summons, notices and
documents in any suit, action or proceeding against the Company, by service by
mail of a copy thereof upon the Agent (whether or not the appointment of such
Agent shall for any reason prove to be ineffective or such Agent shall fail to
accept or acknowledge such service), with a copy mailed to the Company by
registered or certified air mail, postage prepaid, to its address provided in
Section 7.5 hereof. The Company agrees that the failure of the Agent
to give any notice of such service to it shall not impair or affect in any way
the validity of such service or any judgment rendered in any action or
proceeding based thereon.
62
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Depositary and the Company unconditionally agree that in the
event that a Holder or Beneficial Owner brings a suit, action or proceeding
against (a) the Company, (b) the Depositary in its capacity as Depositary under
this Deposit Agreement or (c) against both the Company and the Depositary, in
any such case, in any state or federal court of the United States, and the
Depositary or the Company have any claim, for indemnification or otherwise,
against each other arising out of the subject matter of such suit, action or
proceeding, then the Company and the Depositary may pursue such claim against
each other in the state or federal court in the United States in which such
suit, action, or proceeding is pending and, for such purposes, the Company and
the Depositary irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such
courts. The Company agrees that service of process upon the Agent in
the manner set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be effective service upon
it for any suit, action or proceeding brought against it as described in this
paragraph.
63
The
Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted
by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue
of any actions, suits or proceedings brought in any court as provided in this
Section 7.6, and hereby further irrevocably and unconditionally waives and
agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or
proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient
forum.
No
disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of
the Deposit Agreement.
The
provisions of this Section 7.6 shall survive any termination of this Deposit
Agreement, in whole or in part.
SECTION
7.7 Assignment. Subject
to the provisions of Section 5.4 hereof, this Deposit Agreement may not be
assigned by either the Company or the Depositary.
SECTION
7.8 Compliance with U.S.
Securities Laws. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit
Agreement to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery of Deposited Securities
will not be suspended by the Company or the Depositary except as would be
permitted by Instruction I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6
Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, under the Securities
Act.
64
SECTION
7.9 Titles. All
references in this Deposit Agreement to exhibits, articles, sections,
subsections, and other subdivisions refer to the exhibits, articles, sections,
subsections and other subdivisions of this Deposit Agreement unless expressly
provided otherwise. The words "this Deposit Agreement", "herein",
"hereof", "hereby", "hereunder", and words of similar import refer to the
Deposit Agreement as a whole as in effect between the Company, the Depositary
and the Holders and Beneficial Owners of GDSs and not to any particular
subdivision unless expressly so limited. Pronouns in masculine,
feminine and neuter gender shall be construed to include any other gender, and
words in the singular form shall be construed to include the plural and vice
versa unless the context otherwise requires. Titles to sections of
this Deposit Agreement are included for convenience only and shall be
disregarded in construing the language contained in this Deposit
Agreement.
65
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, GRASIM INDUSTRIES LIMITED and CITIBANK, N.A. have duly executed
this Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first above set forth and all
Holders and Beneficial Owners shall become parties hereto upon acceptance by
them of Global Depositary Shares evidenced by Receipts issued in accordance with
the terms hereof or upon acquisition of any beneficial interest
therein.
GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LIMITED
|
|||
|
By:
|
/s/ X. X. Xxxxx
|
|
Name:
X.X. XXXXX
|
|||
Title:
Sr. EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT
|
|||
CITIBANK,
NA.
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxx
|
||
Name:
XXXX X. XXXXX
|
|||
Title:
VICE PRESIDENT
|
66
EXHIBIT
B
FEE
SCHEDULE
DEPOSITARY
FEES AND RELATED CHARGES
All
capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have
the
meaning given to such terms in the Deposit Agreement.
I. Depositary
Fees
The
Company, the Holders, the Beneficial Owners and the persons depositing Shares or
surrendering GDSs for cancellation agree to pay the following fees of the
Depositary:
Service
|
Rate
|
By
Whom Paid
|
|
(1) |
Issuance
of GDSs upon deposit of Shares (excluding issuances as a result of
distributions described in paragraph (4) below).
|
Up
to $5.00 per 100 GDSs (or fraction thereof) issued.
|
Person
for whom deposits are made or party receiving GDSs.
|
(2) |
Delivery
of Deposited Securities, property and cash against surrender of
GDSs.
|
Up
to $5.00 per 100 GDSs (or fraction thereof) surrendered.
|
Person
surrendering GDSs or making withdrawal.
|
(3) |
Distribution
of cash dividends or other cash distributions (i.e. sale of rights and
other entitlements).
|
Up
to $2.00 per 100 GDSs held.
|
Person
to whom distribution is made.
|
(4) |
Distribution
of GDSs pursuant to (i) stock dividends or other free stock distributions,
or (ii) exercise of rights.
|
Up
to $5.00 per 100 GDSs issued.
|
Person
to whom distribution is made.
|
(5) |
Transfer
of GDRs.
|
$1.50
per Certificate presented
|
Person
presenting certificate for
transfer.
|
II. Charges. Holders,
Beneficial Owners, persons depositing Shares for deposit and persons
surrendering GDSs for cancellation and for the purpose of withdrawing Deposited
Securities shall be responsible for the following charges:
B-1
|
(i)
|
taxes
(including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental
charges;
|
|
(ii)
|
such
registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the
registration of Shares or other Deposited Securities on the share register
and applicable to transfers of Shares or other Deposited Securities to or
from the name of the Custodian, the Depositary or any nominees upon the
making of deposits and withdrawals,
respectively;
|
|
(iii)
|
such
cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses as are
expressly provided in the Deposit Agreement to be at the expense of the
person depositing Shares or Holders and Beneficial Owners of
GDSs;
|
|
(iv)
|
the
expenses and charges incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of
foreign currency;
|
|
(v)
|
such
fees and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in connection with
compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory
requirements applicable to Shares, Deposited Securities, GDSs and GDRs;
and
|
|
(vi)
|
the
fees and expenses incurred by the Depositary in connection with the
delivery of Deposited Securities.
|
B-2