Working to 'sort out issues' of NSE's IPO, says Tuhin Kanta Pandey

The chairman of India's market regulator said on Thursday it was working to resolve issues delaying the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) long-awaited listing, potentially easing the way for the bourse's entry into public markets.

The country's largest exchange first applied for a listing in 2016 but faced a long-running case over equitable access for its trading members.

In April 2019, the regulator fined the stock exchange Rs 1,100 crore for not ensuring equitable access and returned its listing documents.

Last year, Reuters reported citing sources, that the NSE had restarted the process of its public offer and applied for a "no-objection" certificate with the regulator.

In March news television NDTV Profit reported that the NSE could face a potential delay of up to two years in launching its IPO, following a detailed letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India flagging concerns including those over the exchange's internal processes, governance, and it reducing stakes in its clearing corporation.

"We will not allow commercial interest to take over the general public interest, and it is for the regulator to ensure that," Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday on the sidelines of an industry event.

In October, the NSE paid Rs 643 crore ($75.2 million) to settle another case related to unfair access to its algorithmic trading software with Sebi, clearing a hurdle in the way of its public listing.