BSE, HBF Direct sign pact to promote listing of SMEs, startups

Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday said it has collaborated with HBF Direct Ltd to encourage and promote listing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups across India.

HBF Direct is a management consultancy company and offers advisory services to SMEs and corporates in the areas of corporate, finance & legal, fundraising and IPO advisory.

Through this pact, HBF Direct will assist the exchange in evaluating SMEs and startups for listing on BSE's SME & startups platform, the exchange said in a statement.

In addition, the management consultancy company will also refer curated SMEs and startups to BSE for the listing.

Further, the two entities will host joint road shows and events across India for creating awareness and to promote listing of SMEs and startups on the bourse's platform.

"At a time when small businesses are slowly recovering from the economic impact of Covid-19, equity funding can be of paramount importance. By leveraging existing client base of HBF Direct, this pact will help us in reaching out to SMEs and startups across diverse sectors," Ajay Thakur, Head - BSE SME & Startups, said.

Also, the pact will open up future possibilities of collaborative effort to increase the awareness around benefits of listing amongst SMEs and startups spread across India, thereby enabling more and more businesses to avail benefits of equity financing, he added.

"BSE and HBF Direct partnership will bring together deep knowledge and expertise along with years of experience in IPO listing and business consulting to support startups and SMEs across the country to educate and encourage in becoming a listed company without any hassle," Sachin Sheoran, CEO, HBF Direct, said.

BSE became the first stock exchange to get the approval from markets regulator Sebi and had launched its SME platform in March 2012.

So far, 356 companies listed on BSE SME Platform have raised Rs 3,782 crore from the market and total market capitalization of such firms stood at Rs 41,758 crore. Out of 356 companies, 125 have migrated to BSE Main Board.

BSE is the market leader in this segment with a market share of 61 per cent.