Blockbuster listing for BSE; shares end nearly 33% higher

Mumbai: In a blockbuster debut, shares of 140-year-old BSE Ltd on Friday got listed on rival NSE's platform at a huge premium of nearly 33 percent over the IPO price -- culminating the 10-year-long process of India's first stock exchange going public.

The listing saw Asia's oldest stock exchange attain an individual market valuation of nearly Rs 5,750 crore, while the combined market capitalisation of all listed companies on its platform incidentally scaled a new record of Rs 115 lakh crore today.

After listing at Rs 1,085, up 34.61 percent from the issue price of Rs 806 a piece, the BSE shares ended the first day of trading at Rs 1,069.20, a sharp gain of 32.65 percent.

In intra-day, the scrip skyrocketed as much as 48.88 percent to touch a high of Rs 1,200 a share.

On the volume front, over 1.5 crore shares of the exchange were traded on NSE during the day.

Speaking at the listing ceremony at National Stock Exchange (NSE) here, BSE CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan promised that the exchange would stay focussed on a high level of compliance even after listing.

BSE Chairman Sudhakar Rao said he was now looking forward to NSE getting listed on the BSE's platform. NSE too has filed draft papers with the Sebi in December for an estimated Rs 10,000 crore IPO.

Market regulator Sebi's rules do not allow self-listing of a stock exchange and therefore they can get their shares listed only on another recognised bourse's platform.

"This is a culmination of 10 year long process of getting BSE listed. BSE was largely owned by brokers (for most of its life). Now (post-IPO) the traditional brokers own less than 30 per cent of the exchange and 70 per cent is public holding," Chauhan told reporters.

"Those who want to invest in BSE should only do so if they are confident about our business model. We are basically in the business of compliance and that will remain our mainstay going forward," he added.

The issue by BSE, also the first share sale by a domestic stock exchange, was open to bidding from January 23-25. The IPO saw robust investor demand and was subscribed 51.22 times.

NSE chairman Ashok Chawala addressing the listing ceremony said: "Governance, credibility, trust are very crucial aspect in the management of money and finance. Stock exchanges needless to say play a vital role in this respect."

He also noted that an organisation which provide such services are more open to questions and public scrutiny. Therefore, the listing of stock exchanges is a important step forward as public will have a role to play.

During the initial share sale, shareholders offered 1.54 crore shares estimated to be worth around Rs 1,243.44 crore at the higher end of the price band. The price band was fixed at Rs 805-806.