Cse Meet To Take Up Ed Issue Today

The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) executive committee will take up the issue of selecting the next executive director at its board meeting tomorrow. The matter will assume importance as it will probably be the last board meeting before the tenure of the existing executive director gets over next month.

Sources said the 11-member committee will try to reach a conclusion tomorrow on putting a head at the helm of affairs of the beleaguered exchange before the term of the current incumbent expires.

Since the tenure of the current executive director Tapas Datta will expire on September 22, the failure of the committee to nominate somebody in his place or give Datta an extension for another year would mean that the exchange will be headless for some time.

A section of the committee favours recommending Datta for another term to the Securities & Exchange Board of India. The market regulator enjoys the power of sanctioning or rejecting an exchange's nomination for the post of executive director.

The committee members feel that in case Datta is not available for the top job, the exchange will have to hire somebody from outside Kolkata. The members are, however, not sure whether a capable professional would be ready to offer his service to the bourse because of its current financial strain.

The committee will also discuss issues relating to progress on introduction of derivatives trading and the DSQ imbroglio.

Sources say Datta will keep the committee abreast with his interaction with the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange officials. Datta recently visited both the exchanges and discussed the pros and cons of taking membership of these two bourses' derivatives trading. CSE has already launched a subsidiary to get membership of other exchange's derivatives trading.

The committee will also take a stance on DSQ imbroglio after examining the company's reply to the exchange's show cause notice.