MUMBAI, March 16: The OTCEI board has paved the way for a change of guard to revive the sagging fortunes of the bourse. Joseph Bosco, a manager with the National Stock Exchange (NSE), has been selected for the job subject to SEBIapproval. Bosco has been asked to chalk out a revival plan for the exchange by the next board meeting to be held in a month's time.At a meeting held on Monday, the board felt that there is an urgent need to revive the ailing exchange, the daily volumes of which have dropped to Rs 7 lakh.
Bosco will be on deputation from NSE and M Pushpangadam will return to the parent organisation, the Unit Trust of India (UTI).
The current move, which has been prompted by UTI, a co-promoter of the NSE and the OTCEI, is a last minute effort by the institutional promoters to revive the exchange. Board members have, however, denied this move to be any step towards a merger of both the exchanges. A merger cannot be possible since the bye-laws of the two exchanges do not permit such a move, theysaid.
OTCEI, which was the first exchange to introduce on-line trading in the country, has been grappling with minuscule volumes. The OTCEI, which was basically set up to provide a trading ground for mid-cap companies, was the first exchange to introduce the concept of market-making and rolling settlements. However, it has been gradually introducing more modules like the permitted segment and the debt segment which has not helped much in improving the volumes.
Bosco, manager in the listing department, has already taken up his fresh assignment at OTCEI. He would, however, continue to be on the rolls of NSE. According to NSE sources, Bosco has had a 20-year stint with the Syndicate Bank and has also been part of the crucial membership department of the bourse. In addition to this, he also has expertise in handling matters pertaining to insurance.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
