Date:08/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030805242000.htm

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Business

Singapore Exchange picks up 5 p.c. in BSE

Special Correspondent

Will subscribe to the shares of BSE at Rs. 5,200 a share for Rs. 189 crore

BSE gets second overseas investment

Tie-up will offer Asian advantage to BSE

PHOTO: SHASHI ASHIWAL

LEVERAGING STRENGTHS: (from left) Rajnikant Patel, MD & CEO, Jagdish Capoor, Chairman, Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., J. Y. Pillay, Chairman, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) and Hsieh Fu Hua, CEO, after signing an MoU in Mumbai on Wednesday.

MUMBAI: Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. (BSE) has entered into an agreement with Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) whereby SGX will pick up 5 per cent stake in the BSE.

The Singapore Exchange will subscribe to the shares of BSE at Rs. 5,200 a share for Rs 189 crore. The two exchanges have also agreed to actively explore collaboration in various areas relating to listing and product development, leveraging on SGX's leading position as a regional hub for derivatives and international listings and BSE's strong presence in India.

"This strategic tie-up with SGX will offer the Asian advantage to BSE," said Rajnikant Patel, Managing Director and CEO, BSE, while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday. SGX is Asia-Pacific's first demutualised and integrated securities and derivatives exchange. "They bring a huge amount of learning to this partnership. This partnership will not only be mutually beneficial to both the exchanges, but also complement our association with Deutsche Börse. This alliance will position the BSE to be an important player in the increasingly globalised market place," Mr. Patel added.

Last month, Germany's Deutsche Bourse took up 5 per cent stake in BSE. Hsieh Fu Hua, CEO of SGX, said, "We look forward to supporting the BSE's goal to strengthen their international position. Together, we aim to identify new business development opportunities and to foster an enduring partnership that is beneficial to both exchanges and our customers. Our investment in the BSE is consistent with our strategy of building an Asian gateway for securities and derivatives products."

Earlier an Association of Persons (AOP), the BSE is now a corporatised entity, incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, and is presently in the process of demutualisation.

Listed on its own bourse, the SGX stock is a component of benchmark indices such as the MSCI Singapore Free Index and the Straits Times Index. It positioned itself as the Asian gateway for capital raising and risk management. One third of its market capitalisation is amounted for by foreign companies.