MD Ashish Chauhan says exchange ready to commence IPO, waiting for SEBI nod

According to a report, Chauhan told a delegation of journalists that once the regulator is more comfortable with the exchange’s operations, it will be allowed to re-apply to float its IPO.

The exchange’s public offer had been delayed in the wake of the co-location incident and numerous technical glitches. BSE Limited, meanwhile, got listed on the NSE in 2017.

Notwithstanding the delays, the exchange has been achieving significant growth in recent times given the boom in derivatives trading and the introduction of multiple indices’ expiry on different dates. NSE is the world’s largest derivatives exchange by trading volume.

For the third quarter, the exchange posted a 25% year-over-year growth in its consolidated operating revenue at ₹3,517 crore. Meanwhile, its consolidated net profit rose 8% to ₹1,975 crore.

NSE had indicated that cash markets recorded an average daily traded volumes (ADTVs) of ₹80,512 crore, up 50% y-o-y during the quarter. Equity futures saw their ADTVs increase by 18% y-o-y to ₹1.31 lakh crore while that of equity options rose 28% y-o-y to ₹56,707 crore.

Accordingly, while the overall volumes for the third quarter for cash equity and equity derivatives segment grew by about 29% y-o-y, the total transaction charges grew by only about 18% y-o-y. This was mainly due to the roll back of increased transaction charges effective April 1, 2023, it said.

The exchange said it contributed ₹28,131 crore to the exchequer in the first nine months of fiscal 2024 which includes a securities transaction tax (STT) of ₹23,137 crore. STT accounts for 1.57% of the direct tax collections for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024, it pointed out in a release.