NSE bars four NSEL defaulters from trading

Leading stock exchange NSE today barred four entities from trading on its platform after they defaulted on their dues in connection with Rs 5,500 crore payment crisis at National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).

The other two stock exchanges, BSE and MCX-SX, have already barred three entities each from their respective platform for similar defaults.

The decision to this effect has been taken by various stock exchanges in consultations with the capital markets regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India).

As a payment crisis involving an amount of over Rs 5,500 crore emerged at the exchange late last month, it had to suspend trading following a government directive.

 As the crisis continues to deepen, NSEL on August 22 declared nine entities as defaulters after they failed to pay their dues.

Subsequently, the stock exchanges have asked their trading members not to register any of these nine defaulter entities as their clients till further notice.

 On its part, NSE has disabled Unique Client Codes (UCC) of four entities of these nine defaulters who are registered as clients of the exchange's members. All entities need UCC to trade on a stock exchange platform.

 These nine entities include ARK Imports, Loil Overseas Foods, Lotus Refineries, N K Proteins, NCS Sugars, Spin Cot Textiles, Tavishi Enterprises, Vimladevi Agrotech and Yathuri Associates.

 "In consultation with Sebi and other exchanges, as a proactive measure, to protect market integrity and to safeguard market participants' interest and as a risk management measure, it has been decided to disable UCC of above nine entities from trading with immediate effect," National Stock Exchange (NSE) said in a circular.

 "Out of above nine entities, 4 entities --Loil Overseas Foods, N K Proteins, NCS Sugars Limited and Lotus Refineries are registered as clients with members of the exchange and UCCs of these 4 entities would be disabled," it added.

 NSEL was set up to provide an electronic platform to farmers and others for spot market trading in agriculture and other commodities, but it later emerged that some short- duration forward contracts were also being traded there.

 NSEL needs to pay dues totalling Rs 5,500 crore to 148 members/brokers, representing 13,000 investor clients.

As a payment crisis emerged late last month at the spot exchange, which was providing an electronic platform for spot trading in commodities, and it suspended all trades on July 31 on a government directive.

The spot exchange later announced a seven-month plan to settle the dues, but it was able to pay only Rs 92 crore on August 20, the first pay-out day as per the settlement calendar, as against a scheduled payment of Rs 174.72 crore.