BSE introduces online facility for CPSE ETF's FFO subscription

To facilitate acceptance of subscriptions for Further Fund Offer of CPSE ETFs, BSE has introduced an online mechanism for investment and subscription of exchange-traded fund on its Internet-basedbook buildingsystem (iBBS) platform.

The facility, which will be provided through the iBBS platform, will be made available to trading members registeredwithmutual fund industry body Amfi.

The exchange will conduct a mock session for BiMF (BSE iBBS Platform for Mutual Fund) module on the iBBS platform on January 16-17. Also, a mock trading session in this regard was conducted on Saturday.

The mock session is being conducted to familiarise the participants with the new segment on the iBBS platform for subscription and bidding of the second tranche of CPSE ETFs.

BSE has received approval from Sebi to extend its stock exchange mechanism currently being used for accepting subscriptions for sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) to Further Fund Offer (FFO) of CPSE ETFs.

Also, no separate registration will be required to access the platform.

"The exchange is in receipt of the Sebi approval for providing stock exchange mechanism similar to the Sovereign Gold Bond mechanism through the iBBS platform to trading members... For subscription of FFO of CPSE ETF. The BiMF module on the iBBS platform can be accessed through Internet and leased line," BSE said in a notice.

The issue size of FFO, which will open on January 17 and close on January 20, is Rs 4,500 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 1,500 crore.

The FFO is open to all categories of investors, including anchor, retail, retirement funds, QIBs, non-institutional investors and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). An upfront discount of 5 per cent is being offered to all categories of investors.

Central Public Sector Enterprises ETF, which functions like a mutual fund scheme, comprises scrips of 10 PSUs -- ONGC, Coal India, IOC, GAIL (India), Oil India, PFC, Bharat Electronics, REC, Engineers India and Container Corporation of India.

The government had launched its first CPSE ETF in March 2014, taking the ETF route to disinvestment for the first time. It had raised Rs 3,000 crore through the ETF then.

Last week, NSE had said it has introduced an online facility for the investment and subscription of exchange traded fund on its e-IPO platform.