India’s markets regulator is set to grant the key approval required for the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to move ahead with its long-awaited initial public offering, according to a statement made on Saturday.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will issue a “no objection certificate” (NOC) to the country’s largest stock exchange later this month, a step that will allow NSE to begin preparing its IPO prospectus. The approval is a critical milestone in the listing process.
“We will soon issue a NOC to NSE and after that they will start preparation,” Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey told reporters in Chennai, adding that the clearance would be granted this month.
The development follows years of litigation between NSE and the regulator. In 2019, Sebi fined the exchange Rs 1,100 crore (about USD 122 million) for failing to provide fair and equal access to all trading members, in a case linked to alleged preferential access to its trading systems. NSE, which is also the world’s most active derivatives exchange, has since been seeking regulatory clearance to proceed with a public offering.
In June, it was reported that NSE had offered USD 160 million to settle the dispute with Sebi, potentially paving the way for the regulator to lift obstacles to its listing.
The issuance of the NOC does not amount to final approval of the IPO, but it will enable NSE to begin drafting and filing its offer documents. Formal clearance will still be required before the exchange can go to market.
An NSE listing is expected to be one of the most significant public offerings in India’s capital markets, given the exchange’s dominant position in equities and derivatives trading. Market participants have long anticipated the IPO, which has been delayed repeatedly due to regulatory and legal hurdles.
Once the prospectus preparation begins, analysts expect greater clarity on the size, timing and valuation of the offering, which is likely to attract strong interest from both domestic and international investors. |
