Tisco To Commence Demat Trading Within A Month

Senior officials at Tata Share Registry Ltd (TSRL) said Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) is set to commence trading in dematerialised shares within a month. Tisco was one of the first companies to have signed an agreement with the National Securities Depository on November 8, 1996.

Says Kashmira Mewawala, a senior official at TSRL: We have already acquired the necessary hardware. Our people have been trained by NSDL and the only thing that needs to be done is the VSAT connection. This will take another 10-15 days. It is only then that we can start testing. It will take at least a month.

 

Mewawala admitted that the company had taken a long time for completing the formalities. According to market sources, the main problem that companies had to face was of installation of the VSAT network. Says a source involved in a similar installation for a leading finance firm: Many landlords in old victorial buildings in Mumbai took strong objection to the installation of huge antennas on terraces. They have demanded compensation to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh per antenna from those who were interested in installing such antennas. Some firms have paid compensation to that extent.

TSRL officials admitted that they did face this problem. NSDL officials confirmed that TSRL had informed them about it. We have received permission from our landlords, Tata Sons in this case, for installation of the VSAT antenna. The Army Navy building is a heritage building and permission was necessary as the terrace had to be dug up.

NSDL expects other Tata firms to join the depository soon.