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BSE aims to double turnover, expand trading network

The Bombay Stock Exchange, or BSE, plans to expand the BSE On-line Trading, or BOLT, network to 1,000 cities from 220 cities by March 2001, BSE president Anand Rathi said.

Unveiling his Vision-2005 on Monday, Rathi said, ''We have achieved most of the issues targetted under Mission 2000 and now want to be a leader among the bourses by achieving new targets.''

The bourse reported 110 per cent growth in business volume in the year 99-00 and expects to report 100 per cent growth in the current year, he said.

The BSE chief said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI, has recently allowed the bourse to expand the network nationwide. The BSE, under its massive expansion plan will achieve the target, he said.

With the increasing use of Internet all over the world, the BSE will shortly be introducing Internet-based trading with the help of Tata Consultancy Services, TCS.

Under the proposed scheme, clients will put in their orders via the Internet, which upon acceptance by the broker, will be routed to the BSE's regulator BOLT system for matching.

The Internet server is expected to be hosted by the exchange itself thereby reducing the cost to members.

This will enable small members as well, to compete at par with members of other exchanges, Rathi said.

The BSE sought help from the central government as well as regulatory authorities for allowing rise in Indian depository receipts, or IDRs, based on the line of American depository receipts, or ADRs.

According to Rathi, the non-resident Indians, or NRIs, will take advantage of such schemes for raising capital from local bourses in line with the ADRs.

The BSE president also urged the government to offer 20 per cent public sector unit divestment to retail investors at 10-15 per cent discount prior to privatisation.

He earmarked 24 per cent of equity in a foreign company's Indian venture for the Indian public and asked the authorities to make a compulsory local listing of those Indian companies wishing to be listed abroad.

While welcoming the government's move of relaxing initial public offering guidelines for the infotech sector, Rathi urged that this relaxation should be given to all sectors.

UNI

Business