BSE to announce SME Exchange rollout shortly

The country's premier bourse Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today said it will announce the launch date of its proposed SME Exchange within a fortnight.

"We have applied for Sebi licence. We have made a number of presentation to the regulator and a few more are awaited. Within the next couple of weeks will be have a clearer picture on this and then we will be able to announce the rollout date," BSE Chief Executive and Managing Director Madhu Kannan said here.

Kannan was talking to newspersons on the sidelines of a function at the BSE. Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was the chief guest at a function organised jointly by BSE and All-India Association of Industries.

Asked about a timeframe for the launch, Kannan said, "I will let you know in a couple of weeks, as by then we will have more clarity."

The BSE, along with NSE and privately-promoted MCX SX, had applied for Sebi permission to launch SME exchanges last June. None of the applicants so far got the permission so far.

As to when he is expecting Sebi nod, he said "I will let you know in the next two to three weeks."

On whether Asia's oldest bourse is ready with the infrastructure for the proposed exchange, the BSE top brass answered in the affirmative and said, "we need only a few days to launch once the Sebi permission is in."

However, another senior BSE official, who wished to unidentified, told PTI that BSE will not be able to launch the proposed SME bourse in the current fiscal. But he insisted they will be able to do so within this calendar year.