Saurabh Sarkar, Managing Director, Metropolitan Stock Exchange (formerly MCX Stock Exchange), has decided to put in his papers after trying to revive volumes in the exchange for the last 19 months in office.

The Board of Directors of the exchange will meet next week to find a successor to Sarkar. Sources said the board was upset with slow progress in the revival of the exchange and wanted a new Managing Director to lead from the front.

It is reliably learnt that MCX Clearing Corporation Udai Kumar will be appointed as interim MD and CEO of the exchange.

Insiders feel that the cash-starved exchange will be able to make substantial saving by appointing Kumar as interim MD and CEO.

He currently takes home ₹55 lakh per annum, while Sarkar commands an annual salary of ₹1.80 crore. Meanwhile, SEBI has renewed the licence of the exchange till September next year even as the auditors have made qualifications on the exchange's accounting practice and raised concern in the latest annual report over the exchange wiping out substantial networth due to losses incurred in the last few months.

The exchange's market share in currency derivatives segment has plunged by 5-7 per cent from 55 per cent in the last two years.

Currently, the exchange records average daily volume of ₹1,200-1,500 crore in currency futures and options segment due to stiff competition from NSE and BSE.

Low fee The low fees charged by the rival exchanges have made survival difficult for the cash-starved Metropolitan Stock Exchange.

While BSE levies a fee of ₹10-15 per ₹1 crore traded on the currency segment, Metropolitan Stock Exchange and NSE charge ₹105 and ₹110 per Rs 1 crore of trade logged on their platform.

Metropolitan Stock Exchange logs monthly turnover of ₹100-150 crore in interest rate futures.

The exchange has managed to raise just ₹75 crore in the recent rights issue against the targeted ₹118 crore.

It has invested ₹50 crore in MCX Clearing Corporation to meet SEBI’s minimum networth criteria of ₹100 crore for clearing corporations.

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