The four regional stock exchanges of Ludhiana, Delhi, Kanpur and Jaipur will collectively set up a separate platform in a bid to facilitate trading in the equity shares of regional companies listed with these exchanges.“We have agreed in principle to create a separate trading platform that will pave the way for trading in equity shares of regional companies listed at the respective stock exchanges and we expect it to start within the next five months,” Ludhiana Stock Exchange chairman S P Sharma said.The exchanges have roped in major information technology companies including CMC, Financial Technologies and TCS for developing a special software to interconnect them.“The clearing house for trading will be set up at the Delhi Stock Exchange,” he said.Besides benefiting the listed companies, the commencement of trading in stocks of regional companies would unlock the value of equity shares they have been holding for the last several years.“Now investors will have the option of either exiting their stakes after selling shares or retain them,” he said. In addition to this, the market capitalisation of shares of regional companies — which remained blocked due to closure of equity trading at regional stock exchanges — would get impetus with the start of trading, he said.“The regional companies which are listed at these exchanges will also have an option for tapping the market through right issue for their expansion purposes,” he said.With the setting up of trading platform, the trading in about 4,000 listed companies would start.“About 3,300 companies are listed with the Delhi Stock Exchange, 300 each at Ludhiana and Kanpur and the remaining with the Jaipur exchange,” he said.All of these stock exchanges have even met finance minister P Chidambaram for allowing public sector undertakings (PSUs) to list at regional exchanges in order to give boost to new trading platform.
