100 MSMEs to explore BSE SME listing this fiscal; number of firms shifting to main board to go up

Earlier this week, BSE had amended the criteria for migration to the main board for SMEs. (Representational)

The listing platform for small and mid-size enterprises (SME) at the Bombay Stock Exchange BSE SME launched in March 2012 has so far seen the listing of 312 SMEs while another around 100 are exploring listing by the end of the current financial year, according to BSE SME Head Ajay Thakur. “By March end we are expecting another 40-45 SMEs to file their prospectus while 60 companies have already filed it and are in line to get listed even as it depends on how the market behaves,” Thakur told Financial Express Online.

According to the data available, the market cap of 312 listed SMEs so far is Rs 18,378.77 crore while the total money raised till date is Rs 3,183.80 crore. In terms of migration to the main board, so far 71 SMEs have made the switch while “another 10-12 companies may migrate to the main board by March,” Thakur added.

Also read: Credit growth in MSMEs suffers despite govt’s push, low lending rates; here’s what RBI data shows

Earlier this week, BSE had amended the criteria for migration to the main board for SMEs wherein now the post-issue capital has to be more than Rs 10 crore while the market cap has to be at least Rs 25 crore and that the company or its directors or promoters should not have been debarred by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Watch: The Economist – India Summit 2019

The increase in listings gain significance amid the government’s focus to boost MSME listings on the stock exchanges —  BSE SME and NSE Emerge. MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari has been urging SMEs to get listed to raise capital to grow their businesses and that the government will buy 10 per cent in them.

With respect to Emerge, 200 MSMEs have been listed on the platform while nearly 22 MSMEs have migrated to the mainboard of NSE. “From conventional manufacturing companies to new economy start-ups, NSE has always endeavoured to create a vibrant capital raising environment,” Vikram Limaye, MD and CEO, NSE said during the listing of 200th MSME on Emerge in August this year.