NSE tightens rules for SME companies shifting to main board listing

India's National Stock Exchange on Thursday tightened rules for small companies on its SME platform seeking to move to the main board, requiring at least Rs 100 crore in annual revenue to qualify.

The move comes months after India's markets regulator issued tighter regulations for merchant bankers and initial public offerings by small businesses.

Only small businesses with at least Rs 100 crore in revenue in the year before applying will be eligible to list on the main board, the NSE said in a circular, adding such a requirement for the first time after no revenue criteria were set in its April 2023 guideline

The NSE also said firms must be profitable for two of the last three years-compared to the earlier requirement of positive EBITDA in the previous three years and profit after tax in the year of applying.

It also lowered the minimum number of public shareholders to 500 from 1,000 and now requires some large shareholders, called promoters, to hold at least a 20 per cent stake without cutting it by more than half.