Cse Board May Turn Down Sebi Choice Of Ed

The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) governing board is likely to turn down the selection of Yogesh Sharma as executive director of the bourse.

Sharma was chosen by a selection committee set up for the purpose. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) executive director Pratip Kar is a member of the panel. Others in the panel include CSE president Dinesh Singhania, IFB Industries chairman Bijon Nag, and S S Ahuja, chairman of the Tea Board.

A board meeting of the exchange scheduled for February 21 will discuss the issue. The meeting is also likely to be attended by the Sebi nominee on the CSE board, Vijay Ranjan, who replaced recently Kar.

 

The executive director selection issue is expected to create a fresh controversy between the regulator and the bourse.

Sources said some panel members have expressed their reservation against the recommendation of Sharma, who is currently associated with the non-banking finance company, Mangal Finance. They intend to voice their disapproval at the CSE board meet.

The board will also take up the issue of the extension of the Bombay Stock Exchange on-line trading (BOLT) to Calcutta and CSEs C-STAR to Mumbai. It will also obtain the approval for signing the memorandum of understanding with their Mumbai counterparts.

Both the issues will be placed before the committee members for their views, before a final decision is taken, a CSE official said.

It is believed that some panel members disapprove of Sharmas appointment because of his association with a company that is not quite a frontline NBFC, a source said.

Since under the existing norms of the exchange, the governing board can turn down the recommendation made by the selection panel, the members plan to exercise their power.

If the committees move is turned down by a majority, the CSE governing board will have two options: either pick another professional from the list or form a new selection committee.

Under the first option, the choice could possibly be brigadier V Parthasarathy, executive director of the Coimbatore bourse. Another candidate, S R Sengupta, was eliminated since he is a broker. The second option means the setting up of a new selection committee.

On the modalities of the reciprocal extension of BOLT to Calcutta and C-STAR to Mumbai, the source said the terms of the agreement will be put before the board to be ratified by the committee members. Also it would be decided if an extra-ordinary general meeting should be convened for the members opinion on the matter.

Though the agreement between the two bourses will be similar to that between the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange (ASE) and the BSE, there will be few changes according to the needs of the exchange members.