The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) but awaits approval from the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), according to CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan. Chauhan mentioned in a statement in 2023 that once SEBI is satisfied with NSE’s operations, the exchange will proceed with its IPO application.
In December 2023, SEBI set conditions for NSE to address before granting approval, including maintaining glitch-free operations for a year, enhancing technological infrastructure, improving corporate governance, and resolving pending legal matters.
The NSE had faced challenges in 2021 when trading was halted for several hours due to malfunctions in its mainframe and disaster recovery sites, drawing scrutiny from SEBI. The exchange aims to resume its listing plans, which were delayed due to SEBI’s investigation into alleged misconduct involving the exchange and its senior officials.
The investigation focused on accusations of misusing NSE’s co-location facility and providing preferential access to certain trading members. Corporate governance issues, including the involvement of former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in the 2015 co-location scam and various technological failures, have hindered NSE’s listing for several years.
As of September 30, non-public ownership in NSE amounted to 44.03%, just below the 49% threshold, while public holdings constituted 55.97%, exceeding the mandated minimum of 51%. In the latest proposed auction, NSE’s shares were valued at ₹3,150.
NSE reported an eight percent increase in consolidated net profit to ₹1,975 crore for the quarter ended December 2023. Consolidated income from operations stood at ₹3,517 crore for the October-December quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24, representing a 25 percent year-on-year surge, as per a statement from NSE.
