MSMEs should take listing route to raise funds: BSE

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the northern region should get their companies listed at stock exchanges in order to raise funds and gain footprint, a top official of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said here today.
"MSME, especially in Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana need to diversify their focus from wealth creation model to value creation model and hence realise the importance of getting listed on the stock market to be able to raise funds easily and compete globally", said Ajay Thakur, Head-SME, BSE, here today.
"Listing on stock exchanges is the only way forward for the small players, if they wish to enhance their brand image, gain market presence, expand their roots, maximise returns and introduce corporate governance which is very critical but lacking in the present market structure, especially in this region", he added.

Thakur further said, "In last two years, 57 SMEs have registered in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and have experienced profits in many folds. A special policy to list SMEs on BSE will be out soon, which will help the MSMEs to get rid of all the hiccups they face while handling the process of listing. Under this policy, any SME with net worth of Rs 3 crore can get listed in the BSE easily."
He also said that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) have recently launched their respective SME exchange platform.
With this, SMEs will hopefully have better access to funds to support their long-term growth plans, he added.

"We are entrepreneur-driven economy. A large number of small size companies are growing in the market. Now, we are experiencing a huge push to knowledge-based industry. By creating such SME platform, we are adding credibility to lakhs of SMEs running in India and generating employment" he said.