SME exchange: BSE to work out details in 2-3 weeks

The Bombay Stock Exchange, which is planning to launch its own small and medium enterprises (SME) exchange platform, will work out the details for it in the next two-three weeks.

“We have already filed for an SME exchange with SEBI and had made a presentation with SEBI officials last week,” said Mr Madhu Kannan, Managing Director & CEO, BSE, at an event organised by the exchange as part of its India Corporate Week celebration. He also added that significant progress had been made, but refused to divulge more details.

Mr Kannan said that the SME exchange would present “reasonable opportunities” for all the potential participants and that it had generated “a lot of interest” among these participants.

The Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr Salman Khurshid, who was also present at the event, said that the SME exchange was an important platform for raising public capital and that it would greatly benefit the Indian middle-class.

With regards to IFRS implementation, Mr Khurshid said that the final decision lay with the cabinet and that all the necessary consultations had been conducted. “We are working towards a roadmap…but the final decision lies with the cabinet in Delhi,” he said.

scams

When asked about the measures taken by his Ministry with respect to the various scams that have come to light in the recent past, he said that he was in no position to pass a judgment on them and asked the media also to be judicious with its judgments. “We don't know if it comes under the Company Law or if it comes under the Indian Penal Code. But we do need to revise the early warning system,” he said.