MUMBAI, July 15: The Over The Counter Exchange of India (OTCEI) will start trading in the permitted securities segment by the end of this month, M Pushpangadan, managing director, OTC, said. A total of 57 V-Sats would be installed next fortnight covering 15 cities in the country, immediately after which the exchange would commence trading in permitted securities, Pushpangadhan said. Pushpangadan said all the dematerialised shares in the permitted segment would be traded through the National Securities Depositories Ltd (NSDL). "The exchange's linkage with NSDL would soon be in place," he asserted.

In the light of the increased competition, the OTC does not want to be left out of the race. The exchange now expects large companies to join its fold after it has decided to admit companies listed on other exchanges.

"Companies listed on other stock exchanges earlier were not entitled to get listed on the OTC. Now, in a significant deviation, the exchange will permit dual listing," the managing director said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.