The newly-elected CSE president, Chacko J Kallivayalil, said that the bourse had mooted the idea of setting up ISE terminals in centres where the the non-resident Indian (NRI) presence was substantial. CSE is one of the steering committee members of the ISE, which is positioned as the second national exchange in the country after the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The CSE proposal came close on the heels of the Finance Ministry's decision to allow stock exchanges to set up trading terminals abroad. The proposal,estimated to cost Rs 40 lakh for the leased line, besides the hidden cost involved in setting up terminals, is under the active consideration of ISE. A formal decision in this regard is expected when the ISE top brass meets next time. The ISE governing council is expected to meet sometime by the end of this month.

The CSE proposal has listed a number of advantages for ISE to set up trading centres abroad. Topping the list of positives is the superior demand assigned multiple access (DAMA) technology being used by the ISE. This technology allows instant access to any number of brokers at a single time compared to the time division multiple access (TDMA) technology which restricts the number of users at a single point of time used by the NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the first and second largest bourses in the country.

The ISE terminals also permit cost sharing since traders in all the 15 member bourses have to share the investment cost, which should lessen the financial burden on individualbrokers substantially, the CSE president said.

The bourse is also gearing up to enter the cyber world of trade with the launch of its web site. The bourse had already registered its domain and would launch its site sometime next month, Chacko Kallivayalil said. The website will be developed in two phases. The first will be of informative nature, which provides information about the exchange, its members, trading system as well as the stock quotations of the Cochin bourse. Any investor can access the site through his or her personnel computer and send an E-Mail to strike the deal. The second phase would be the interactive phase which allowed the investor to strike the deal online, the CSE president explained.

The management of the bourse has also decided to put the nine acres of its real estate in the outskirts of Kochi on block. The bourse is expecting a cash flow to the tune of Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore from the sale. Money from this deal would be utilised to set up a trade guarantee fund (TGF), which wouldhelp the bourse expand throughout Kerala by setting up trading terminals across the state.

The bourse has already spread its wings in Kochi and its suburbs by providing connectivity to its members. The TGF would also help its members get the status of clearing members, sources said. CSE has soft launched trading in ISE on Monday, the CSE president said, adding that CSE accounted for over 60 per cent of the total trade on ISE now.