The country's biggest bourse BSE is set to launch the first-ever SME Index on December 14, a top exchange official said today.
"We are launching SME Index on December 14," BSE's MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan told reporters on the sidelines of a capital market conference here.
Currently, BSE has 11 SME companies listed on its platform, while the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has one.
BSE currently has 28 indices, which include six broad- based indices, two thematic, four investment strategy, 13 sectoral and three volatility indices. Out of these, BSE Sensex and BSE 100 are available for trading in the derivatives segment.
The SME companies are doing well and have started giving reasonable returns, Chauhan said.
He also said that the exchange is likely to sell shares in an initial public offering in the middle of the next fiscal year.
The exchange has hired 14 banks to manage the proposed IPO, Chauhan said, but declined to identify the investment banks.
Founded in 1875, BSE has long considered an IPO. India's capital markets regulator Sebi in April approved the listing of local stock exchanges, subject to some conditions.