MUMBAI: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on May 22 said that the outstanding issues delaying the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) initial public offering (NSE IPO would soon be resolved.
“We will soon go ahead with it,” Pandey said, speaking on the sidelines of the ASSOCHAM 16th Capital Market Conference.
Responding to a query on the NSE IPO timeline, Pandey said discussions between NSE and SEBI were progressing well. “NSE and SEBI are talking. They are resolving the issues. I am very hopeful that it will be done soon and we will move forward,” he said.
The market regulator is understood to be engaged with the bourse on several key matters, including governance, technology, litigation, and the clearing corporation structure.
Once these concerns are addressed with a clear roadmap, the IPO process is expected to gain momentum.
DRHP filed in 2016
NSE had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the IPO in December 2016. Shares of the exchange remain among the most actively traded in the unlisted market.
In March this year, NSE renewed its request to SEBI for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to proceed with its listing.
This wasn’t the first such request. NSE had previously written to SEBI for an NOC in November 2019, twice in 2020, and again in August 2024.
In February this year, SEBI responded to the exchange’s latest application, flagging issues related to technology, key management personnel (KMP), clearing corporation ownership, and pending legal matters, including the co-location case.
NSE, in its March communication, is understood to have replied to SEBI’s observations.
Earlier in May, the number of shareholders in NSE crossed the one lakh-mark, making it one of the largest unlisted companies in India by shareholder count – larger than many listed entities in terms of retail investor base.
