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BSE SME exchange has facilitated 'brand building' for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country and further focus will be on tapping more SMEs from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, a senior official of the exchange said in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
"Of the four crore Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India, 95 per cent are in informal sector. We are looking at tapping the remaining five per cent SMEs, which are in the organised sector. Even if we tap one per cent of the SMEs in organised sector, we will be able to facilitate listing of many companies on BSE SME exchange," said, Ajay Thakur, Head, BSE SME exchange.
He was talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a press meet organised by Jupiter Infomedia Limited to announce their migration from BSE SME exchange to BSE main board.
The concept of SME exchange was introduced to help the small-sized companies raise equity capital. The regulatory and disclosure requirements on the SME bourses is much relaxed compared to the main exchanges.
Of the 94 companies listed on SME bourse till date, six have migrated to the main board - BSE Limited. According to the existing norms, companies that have completed two years on the SME platform and have achieved post-issue paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore and above are eligible for migration to the main board.
Thakur said that the SME bourse will reach the target of listing 100 SMEs by July this year with 20 more companies having already filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).
The market-capitalisation of the BSE SME platform is Rs 7,873 crore as on June 10, 2015. According to merchant bankers, many companies are eager to make the move to the main board listing and working towards meeting the requirements. For companies on the SME platform, market-making is facilitated by merchant bankers for a period of three years. Lot-sizes for trading in these securities are fixed at a minimum of Rs 1 lakh. Also, companies are required to furnish corporate earnings numbers every half-year on the SME exchange and on their respective websites.
On shifting to BSE main board platform from SME bourse, Umesh Modi, chairman and managing director, Jupiter Infomedia Limited, said, "Shifting to the BSE main board platform is an opportunity for retail investors to participate in our growth story."
Jupiter Infomedia Limited is a web infomedia company with online publication on business, encyclopedia and Yellowpages.
