Capital markets regulator Sebi today allowed Cochin Stock Exchange (CoSE) to exit from equity trading business.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that CoSE has substantially complied with the conditions for its exit as per the regulator's framework and therefore "is a fit case to allow exit."
The order shall come into force with immediate effect.
According to an order, Sebi said CoSE complied with the regulator's exit guidelines and made payment of necessary dues to the regulator, including 10 per cent of the listing fee and the annual regulatory fee.
Sebi said that among other things, the stock exchange has complied with the guidelines wherein it has stated that there are no arbitration disputes/investor complaints pending against it.
"From the valuation report and undertaking of CoSE, it is observed that all the known liabilities have been brought out and there is no other future liability that is known as on date," Sebi said.
The regulator has asked the CoSE to change its name and not to use the expression "stock exchange" or any variant of this expression in its name, among other things.
This is the sixth stock exchange to exit under this policy.
The CoSE was granted recognition as a stock exchange on July 10, 1979 initially for a period of five years. As per Sebi, the recognition of CoSE as a stock exchange was last renewed for a period of one year on November 8, 2012.
Earlier, Sebi had allowed Hyderabad Securities and Enterprise, Coimbatore Stock Exchange and Inter-connected Stock Exchange to exit as bourses.
Sebi, in May 2012, had issued the guidelines for exit of stock exchanges. This contained details of the conditions for exit of de-recognised or non-operational stock exchanges interalia including treatment of assets of the bourse and a facility of dissemination board for companies listed exclusively on such exchanges, while taking care of the interest of investors.
